2013-3e-1a by CNBAM

Promotional Plan 2012

TOMA-Top of Mind Awareness. In this new era of social media and mobile apps, nothing has been more important. Especially to a campus newspaper. Trends and devices change quickly, and we must always be at the top of our consumers’ minds if we are to stay competitive. Central Michigan Life’s Public Relations plan AND staff continues to grow each year to address these changes, and to create TOMA for our product. How can we influence where our market will get their information? How can we make sure it will still be the campus newspaper/website/app? And how do we create enough TOMA that when they are looking for that information they REMEMBER us? While many papers may focus on just one or two prime events, we believe it takes a daily and aggressive marketing plan to create effective top of mind. Our overall goal is to promote awareness of our print product, Central Michigan Life, build traffic to our online product, www.cm-life.com, promote downloads of our App and create awareness of our niche products and their websites. To accomplish this, in 2012 we aggressively turned to social media to build our Twitter and Facebook audiences and then created activities and events that would put us face to face with our core readers. We hired one Public Relation Manager (300 hr. intern) per semester to oversee the completion of all our projects. The PR interns each had the assistance of 5-6 other interns (40 hours), volunteers and draft members of the advertising and editorial departments. Our Facebook fan base has grown to more than 8,900 followers making us #2 in the rankings of college newspapers with a Facebook presence. CM LIFE’s Twitter followers have increased to more than 6,300 during this past year, and our new App continues to show great promise, exceeding more than 1,200 downloads in our first semester.

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Promotional Plan JANUARY

CMU BASKETBALL ROWDIES WHO CARES! PROMOTION:

A long standing tradition with our CMU men’s basketball team is the CM LIFE “Who Cares!” paper. This gives CM LIFE visibility at every home game. Fans provide a warm welcome to the opposing team, while reading ad messages from supporting businesses on the other side. The advertisers also provide the prizes given to the “rowdiest” fans. CM LIFE PR members attend each game and photograph several Rowdies. The fans know why our staff is there, and are reminded at the game to check the next CM LIFE to see if they are the “Rowdiest” fan. The winners are featured in ads after each home game. Reminder posts to Facebook and Twitter encourage followers to pick up a CM LIFE. After the winner of each game picks up their prize, we post their picture to CM LIFE ‘s facebook page, in the special “Rowdies” album. CM LIFE fans can tag and share their photos, too, increasing CM LIFE’s awareness.

WELCOME BACK RIDE ALONG:

On the first day of classes for the Spring Semester, we publish a large Back To School edition. To welcome students back to campus after Christmas break, we partner with the local transit company to ride buses back and forth between campus and the apartment complexes. Our smiling faces greet each passenger with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a donut hole and a CM LIFE BTS paper. (This year’s coffee sponsor was Biggby Coffee). CM LIFE had four riders on each of the four routes. Our teams also tweeted and posted to their Facebook walls during the ride to create fun and interest. This is a happy promotion that puts a smile on everyone’s face and creates awareness of our brand. We had great feedback from the riders on our Facebook page.

JAN. - DEC. DAILY EFFORTS:

FACEBOOK & TWITTER PR Manager promotes interesting articles, photos and advertisements to CM LIFE Facebook page and Twitter feed. These posts will alternate between links to website, or teaser to pick up the paper. Staff members use their own Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote CM LIFE. This creates an opportunity to show the diversity of information in CM LIFE on any given day.

JAN. - DEC. MONTHLY EFFORTS:

ADVERTISER NEWSLETTERS Twice a month, the PR staff communicates to our advertisers all the promotions and special sections CM LIFE is working on, so our local businesses can be part of the action. In addition, each newsletter features an article, reinforcing the advertiser’sdecision to promote in the student newspaper or the student market. This newsletter is sent to our advertiser email list, plus posted on our advertising website.

1. CMU basketball fans LOVE to express themselves with CM LIFE’s “WHO CARES!” pages. 2. CMU Rowdies Facebook gallery. 3. GET ROWDIE ads run before and after each home game. 4. CM LIFE representatives at the Welcome Back Ride Along!

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Promotional Plan 1. Valentine’s Day personals ad, flyer and poster. Event table. 2. Polar Plunge Crew - before, during and after. 3. 500 beach balls and leis...and the happy Luau fans. 4. Tags on leis encouraging students to visit businesses after game, and next CM LIFE promotion.

FEBRUARY VALENTINE’S DAY PERSONALS AND DINNER/MOVIE GIVEAWAY:

Ah, love on a college campus. What could be better? CM LIFE partnered with two local businesses to provide a romantic evening for two in observance of Valentine’s Day. Promotional ads began in the paper one month prior to publishing. We also promoted via our Facebook and Twitter accounts as well. CM LIFE PR staff created an event page on Facebook to reach out to non CM-LIFE readers/ fans. Invites are sent out via each member’s (Public Relations and Advertising staffs) personal Facebook account. Increasing awareness of event and CM LIFE. For loved ones away from campus, a rectangle ad ran on cm-life.com. This ad linked to a PDF form that parents, alumni and significant others were able to fill out and send in. Also about four weeks prior, CM LIFE PR staff puts up Bus Shelter posters, rack posters and flyers around campus promoting event. A QR code was used this year to encourage readers to submit their valentine message via mobile devices. The PR team also chalks classroom boards. In addition, PR teams set up tables at high-traffic locations and events signing lovers up for the special day. That gave us the extra push we needed to generate double the liners from previous years, and drive readers to the paper that day.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS OF MICHIGAN POLAR PLUNGE:

CM Life is a local, media sponsor for the annual Special Olympics Polar Plunge. Since CMU is home to the state headquarters, and 70% of the plungers are CMU students - it was a natural fit for us. In exchange for the sponsorship CM LIFE gets to field a team of 8 plungers. This is a feel good PR effort, with loads of visibility for us, all for a great cause. We donate 1/4 page ads and a rectangle ad on our website. We also put up posters around campus and on available bus shelters. For fun we also ran a contest on our website for readers to vote for their favorite plunge and their favorite costumes. Winners received Buffalo Wild Wings certificates.

CMU BASKETBALL SPONSORSHIP SPRING BREAK LUAU:

In February, we partnered with CMU Athletics to sponsor a Luau night at the men’s basketball game just prior to Spring Break. This was a fun opportunity to do some giveaways and create some fun visibility for CM LIFE. We provided, and BLEW UP 500 beach balls and also found some colorful leis for the event. To help support the costs of these items, we partnered with United Apartments and Papa John’s Pizza for the event. Each business contributed toward the cost of the beach balls and leis. In exchange, their names were on the beach balls and a coupon for their business was attached to the leis, encouraging students to frequent their business after the game. CM LIFE also created a tag on the leis for our next promotional event, encouraging folks to pack CM LIFE in their bags for Spring Break and inviting them to read the following Monday’s paper for more information on winning $100 in B-Dubs gift certificates. (B-Dubs is like gold here in Central Michigan!)

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Promotional Plan 1

MARCH

Hey CM Life Fans check ouT where cm life wenT on spring break!

TAKE US ON SPRING BREAK:

This promotion encouraged readers to take CM LIFE with them on Spring Break, snap a picture with CM LIFE in that destination, and then post it to our Facebook wall. This entered the reader in a contest to win Buffalo Wild Wings gift certificates. B-dubs is like gold on our campus, so everyone was enthusiastic. Top 3 faces with the most likes won certificates. Buffalo Wild Wings donated prizes in exchange for color on their ads. Win-win for everyone. Our 2012 contest had double the entries from the previous years and 1146 total facebook “like” votes .

We asked our fans to grab a CM Life before they left and pack it in their suitcase,

take a picture

with CM Life from their Spring break location.

To see where we went,

visit CM Life’s facebook page and

vote for your favorite

Spring Break picture!

facebook.com/cmlife The entry with the most “likes” wins

$100 in gifT cerTificaTes!

Second place wins $75 and third wins $50 in certificates. Voting closes 5PM on Friday, March 16. Limit one entry per person.

JAN. - DEC. DAILY EFFORTS:

JAN. - DEC. MONTHLY EFFORTS:

ADVERTISER NEWSLETTERS Twice a month, the PR staff communicates to our advertisers all the promotions and special sections CM LIFE is working on, so our local businesses can be part of the action. In addition, each newsletter features an article, reinforcing the advertiser’s decision to promote in the student newspaper or the student market. This newsletter is sent to our advertiser email list, plus posted on our advertising website.

ds who reae ?

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JAN. - DEC. WEEKLY EFFORTS: WHO READS PROMOTION. As newspapers continue to struggle for readership and relevance, and headlines continue to promote the gloom and doom of the printed word, we wanted to tell a different story. In our small market, the story is different. Not only is our readership among students still high, but our readership within the community of Mt. Pleasant continues to remain high. We wanted to showcase, not only to our readers, but primarily to our advertisers, who reads CM LIFE and the diversity of our readers. The PR staff coordinates the photo shoots and testimonials and creates the ads. The testimonials were used in other promotional materials as well. We included the testimonials on our advertising website for future advertisers to read; we added them to our bi-monthly email newsletter to our existing advertisers; we used them as rack posters around campus; and we added them as a photo album on CM LIFE’s Facebook page. The promotion has been very successful. It has a graphic element that is recognizable; when people are asked to do a testimonial, they remember previous ones that have run; and advertisers have commented about the diversity of our readership. It has been a great way to tell our story.

“I like CM Life because almost all of the articles relate directly to me as a student. I also like how I learn something new every time I read it.”

Mitch Reetz

ds a e r o h w ife?

cm l

Member, CMU Club Baseball, Business Major and Mt. Pleasant Sophmore

CM Life reader for 2 years.

on The better questi n may be... ? The better questio o Doesn’t

“We read CM Life because it provides us with different perspectives on life at CMU and in the Mt. Pleasant area. CM Life keeps Sigma Tau Delta informed and connected not only with the academic community here at CMU but also with the surrounding community outside of the university.”

Sigma Tau Delta

CM Life readers for 72 years (since 1940)

NT iN PRi

N • ONLi

may be...

’t? Who Doesn

NT iN Pri

N • oNLi

acebook

and

Keith Guyot

President of Sigma Tau Delta

Front Row (Left to Right): Marquise Sitkowski, Ariana Jordan, Ashley Budzol, Bridie MacDonald, Jacqui Northrup, Ian Wolf Middle Row (Left to Right): Bethany Wohlfeil, Samantha Randolph, Keith Guyot, Chelcy Pine, Alyssa Chrisman, August Orlow Back Row (Left to Right): Andrew Rodriguez, Justin Wigard, Rachell Weeks, Taylor McCarrick, Jennifer Ziolkowski

SHiP EAdER OUR R y! S dAiL gROw

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 436 MOORE HALL • CMU • MT. PLEASANT • (989) 774-3493

acebook and

436 MOORE HALL CMU • MT. PLEASANT (989) 774-3493

ShiP EAdEr oUr r y! S dAiL grow

1. Spring Break promo results ad; 2. Examples of Spring Break entries; 3. The newsroom really liked this spring break entry. Our FB current timeline photo. 4 & 5. Examples of “Who Reads” testimonial ads.

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Promotional Plan 1. Best of Central Michigan website; 2. Bus shelter poster; 3. Facebook voting sample page; 4. Best of Central Michigan Twitter page; 5. Best of Bribe to Vote page; 6.Online rules pages;

VOTE IN PRINT...

Pick up a CM Life!

C ICHIG2012

VOTE ONLINE! OR

–––––> @ cm-life.com

–––––> @ facebook.com/cmlife –––––> @ bestofcentralmichigan.com 6A || Monday, Apr. 16, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

cm-life.com

4 REMEMBER US

WHEN YOU VOTE!

Vote Us The Best

Vote for your favorites...

Stop in the office and vote for us today!

Now thru May 4th

BEST OF

3300 E. Deerfield Road 773-3300

CENTRAL MICHIG

IES HUNGRY HOWCrust! The Original Flavored

VOTE US BEST!

2012

989-772-0044 • 111 south mission

1000

witH tHe wHOle crew, Of cOurse

we're #1!

VOte cOpper beecH fOr best apartment!

cbeecH.cOm

Vote us #1 for Best Non-Profit! The best place to volunteer, donate or shop!

Hurry! Only a few 4-bedrOOms left!

Lots of items that you need or want!

“Like” us on

Stop in Tues - Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m. • Sat 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

(989) 779-8300

201 E. Pickard • Mt. Pleasant • (989) 773-0043

Dine Dine In In or or Take Take Out Out

Dragon Express Restaurant 1O% Off Entire Bill

Vote us for Best Chinese Restaurant!

Not valid with any other offer. Expires 9/30/12

312 W. Broomfield

(next to Dragon Express)

Mt. Pleasant

(989) 317-3385

Print and online ballots and Facebook voting, plus the bribe boxes added up to more than 3,400 ballots cast.

–––––> @ cm-life.com

–––––> @ facebook.com/cmlife

–––––> @ bestofcentralmichigan.com

Vote Lil’ Chef for BEST BREAKFAST! OPEN 24 HOURS

Vote for us in the salon and recieve 10% off!

Within walking distance from campus! 314 W. Broomfield, next to 7-11 • Mt. Pleasant • 989-779-2727

Twitter: Daily reminders were tweeted for the Facebook category of the day and for friendly reminders to vote, especially in the very competitive categories. Daily reminders with links to the voting and the promotional video would also be posted.

IN PRINT OR ONLINE!

1 large 1 topping pizza

with howie bread & dipping sauce

not valid with any other offers. expires 4/30/12

Facebook: The Facebook promotion to increases awareness and adds another layer of voting. Each day our PR staff would post a new “category” to vote in. We would post the top 5 vote getters from the previous year, and if a business wanted to be added to the category, they just simply had to post a photo to our wall, and we would move it to the category. Then it was up to them to get their fans to our page to vote.

QR Codes in our printed products: newspaper ads, bus shelter posters, and fliers; offer readers a quick gateway via phones to vote on our Facebook page and online at cm-life.com.

INCLUDE THESE MT. PLEASANT BUSINESSES IN Y O U R FAV O R I T E S !

APARTMENT COMPLEX!

CM LIFE produces a special section every fall dedicated to readers choice votes for the BEST OF CENTRAL MICHIGAN.

Businesses participating in the bribe promotion get special boxes for their customers to vote, along with special ballots.

F O T L BEENSTRA AN M

BEST OF CENTRAL MICHIGAN BRIBE/VOTING PROMOTION:

During the voting period (APRIL) for this section, we offer a bribe event to encourage more print ballots for the participating businesses who LOVE TO WIN!

s... e t i r o v a our f ay 4th y r o f e t Vo Now thru M

APRIL

1720 S. Mission Rd. • Mount Pleasant, MI • (989)773-5678

Vote Runners Performance #1 Store for best shoes and athletic gear in town! 2316 South Mission Street Mt. Pleasant • (989) 779-0317

Like Us! Runners Performance Store Follow Us! @weRun989

www.runnerperformancestore.com

Midland • Bay City • Mt. Pleasant • Saginaw

Spend $25.00 & get a free gift!

Shoes •Apparel • Accessories • Supplements

A Great Tan at a Great Price!

Votingthe box inlon! sa

Voted #1 Tanning Salon in Mt .Pleasant!

Stadium Mall • 772-1722

Central Michigan Best Of

VOTE ON FACEBOOK

to Vote by “liking”

our picture scan here:

Vote for The Forum. Best location and lowest rent around.

Vote for Best Bookstore and Best Gift Shop! 209 E. BELLOWS ST. • www.sbxcentral.com • (989) 772-9411

$10 Off Any Piercing

Find us on Facebook!

Student ID Required • Offer Expires May 31, 2012

989•775•8288 www.evolvedartforms.com

Best Service! Best Value! Best Tan in Town! 100 MINUTES

UV FREE My Myst

Must present coupon.

Michael Michael Love Love

(989) (989) 773-7300 773-7300

4585 E. Pickard Street, Suite J, Mt. Pleasant 4585 E. Pickard Street, Suite J, Mt. Pleasant MichaelLove@allstate.com

MichaelLove@allstate.com

VOTE Silverberg #1

We have... •Discount pricing •Largest Vote selection us the of Best elegantInsurance rings Agency! •Sterling Silver TOP 100 IN THE USA! Michael Love •and more... Vote Us #1 in Mount Pleasant! (989) 773-7300

$15

Vote us us the the Best Vote Best Insurance Agency! Insurance Agency!

www.forum-apartments.com - 989.772.5252

$15

Facebook Btan Mt. Pleasant

989-773-2826 - 1620 S. Mission Street - Campus Court Mall, Mt. Pleasant

China Garden We Deliver! Dine in or Carry Out! 2328 S. Mission ∙ Stadium Mall ∙ 989-773-9858

1805 S. Mission St. Mt. Pleasant • (989) 773-9000

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Promotional Plan AUGUST BACK TO SCHOOL DELIVERY BLITZ:

Distribution to apartment complexes and residence halls. Our back to school issue comes out on move in day, the Thursday prior to school starting. This requires us to alter our delivery method in order to get the product into more student hands. Our PR staff implemented personal, door-to-door delivery to all of the major apartment complexes and the residence halls. The staff, along with members of the advetising and editorial teams, handstuffed more than 2,000 bags to hang on door knobs. Our remaining papers were delivered to our racks in the community and on campus. The earlier delivery of our product to students moving in helps our advertisers who rely on the surge of business during those critical move in days. Additional papers are also distributed at the Main Stage/Welcome back event hosted by Residence Life and Student Life. CM LIFE advertising, editorial and public relations staffed worked the CM LIFE table. This is a great introduction to the thousands of new freshmen on campus.

APP DOWNLOAD PROMO:

New this year is our CM LIFE App. So we hit the ground running at the largest event each fall. Staff members walked around Mainstage with “Scan Me” t-shirts encouraging downloads from festival attendees. The t-shirt were great conversation starters, and got us talking with many new students about Central Michigan Life.

JAN. - DEC. DAILY EFFORTS:

JAN. - DEC. MONTHLY EFFORTS:

ADVERTISER NEWSLETTERS Twice a month, the PR staff communicates to our advertisers all the promotions and special sections CM LIFE is working on, so our local businesses can be part of the action. In addition, each newsletter features an article, reinforcing the advertiser’s decision to promote in the student newspaper or the student market. This newsletter is sent to our advertiser email list, plus posted on our advertising website.

1. PR, Advertising & Editorial staffs package papers for door to door delivery; 2. Android and Apple QR Code shirts worn during Mainstage event.

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Promotional Plan 1. How to Make A Newspaper Hat, and other useful information is shared during Residence Hall visits; 2. Campus Cash website and sample coupon page; 3. Campus Cash book; 4. Campus Cash Example FB post.

SEPTEMBER CAMPUS CASH:

CM LIFE publishes a 50-60 page coupon book twice a year. Once at the beginning of the school year in August and another near the beginning of the Spring Semester in February. These books are distributed at events, activities and rack locations on campus. Advertisers and readers LOVE them. This section is promoted in the newspaper, on the website, on CM LIFE’s facebook page and on bus shelters. The bus shelter poster includes a QR code that takes the user to our coupon book’s own dedicated website. The daily task of our PR interns is to Facebook and Tweet a different coupon each day, to encourage our readers to redeem. These Facebook posts give an advertiser 1,800-2,500 impressions on their coupon. The PR staff maintains the website.

RESIDENCE HALL & RSO PRESENTATIONS:

In an effort to reach out to more freshmen and get them to start reading earlier, our PR interns coordinate with the 14 Residence Hall directors to make presentations at hall council meetings. The PR interns accompanied by a representative from the newsroom, usually the Editor In Chief, discuss the importance of CM LIFE on campus, introduce them to the sections in the paper, where to find the paper on campus, what days we publish and then answer any questions they might have. The PR intern will then do giveaways (CM LIFE t-shirts) by asking questions about what was presented to them. In addition, we provide a handout with contact information for each department on the paper. On the back of that sheet we also include instructions on how to make a newspaper hat, with an encouraging message to read, reuse and recycle. The PR interns have paper hats already premade to hand out as well.

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Promotional Plan OCTOBER

October 15, 2012

HOMECOMING: The biggest event during Homecoming Week at CMU is the Medallion Hunt. Each year the office of Student Life hides “The CMU Medallion” somewhere on campus. RSO’s, Residence Halls, Student Organizations and other groups try to find it. Each year carries a theme, and each year the teams get crazier in their sleuthing to find it. The Student Life office manages a website and twitter account to give out clues...BUT the first clue is always published in CM LIFE. Papers fly off the racks that day as frenzied Medallion hunters try to get that valuable first clue. This is one of our best read days of the year.

In today’s competitive market, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to make your ads stand out. But sometimes this results in ads that are too busy-- with too many words, too many images, and too much clutter. This can turn a lot of people off to reading your carefully planned and paid for advertisement. Ads should be designed to cut through the clutter, not create it. So what’s the solution? Simplicity. Keeping your ad simple will help it stand out more because it will be more pleasing to the eye as well as easier to read, understand, and remember. An article from an advertising and marketing website, Marketing Minefield, gives several top tips for print advertising, several of which deal with keeping your ad simplified. 1. Use a simple layout. Keeping a simple layout keeps your ad concise and helps it look polished. This can make your ad more visually appealing and draw readers in. It can also focus their attention on the main message of your advertisement. A busy layout with a lot going on can often distract readers from the overall point of your ad, or deter them from even reading it.

THE GOLDEN TICKET:

This new October promotion was a big hit with our readers, and our advertisers. The series started with a full page ad that ran twice announcing the game. These ads were followed up with 15 quarter page ads featuring each individual business that donated a prize. Each quarter page also told the reader what prize was in that day’s paper. Our PR staff got up at the crack of dawn each publishing day to hide the ticket in a bundle of papers at a preselected location on campus. In addition to the print ads, we did posters and social media promotion, tweeting each day about what prize was in the paper. On the first day of the promotion, our PR Manager got in the spirit of things with this tweet: “I decide to wear something gold-ish today, in the spirit of the Hunt for the Golden Ticket! @CMLIFE”. Now that is some serious PR dedication!

JAN. - DEC. DAILY EFFORTS:

Your CMU News Source Since 1919

Print Ads: Keeping it Simple

2. Focus on one proposition. It is important to focus your ad on one idea, one key message that you want the reader to remember. While you have a lot of great information to get out there, it can be too much to ask readers to remember every detail. Therefore, it is imperative to make your key message

simple and obvious. It is also important to have every other element of your ad working to promote that key message and help it stand out. 3. Use color effectively. Color is a great tool to use for your advertisements. Color ads stand out more amongst the black and white print of the newspaper, and therefore catch more people’s attention. If you have a great picture or image in your ad, try picking colors or accent colors out of that image to also use to color your text. This will help tie your ad together, making it more cohesive and visually appealing. 4. Use the same format and layout again and again. It may seem boring to use the same format and layout for your ads from week to week. However, using the same simple layout can help readers recognize and remember your ads. You can still change the key message of your ad from week to week, but keeping several elements of the ad the same can help continuously keep one image in readers’ minds. This can help readers remember your ad and help you develop a strong brand. Your ultimate goal is Top-Of-Mind-Awareness (TOMA). So remember, when it comes to print advertising, simpler is better. American consumers see an estimated 3,000 advertising messages per day. Creating a clear, concise, and cohesive ad is one way to cut through the clutter and reach your audience effectively.

Written by: Amy Crockett, CM LIFE PR/Marketing Intern. Source: http://www.marketingminefield.com.uk/print-advertising-tips/

436 Moore Hall, CMU, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859

“My favorite part about reading CM LIFE is that it is a newspaper that reports news that is relevant to our generation.” - Ally Converse, CMU Junior, Charlotte, Integrative Public Relations Major CM LIFE reader for 2 1/2 years.

What’s going on in October & November? HALLOWEEN PAGES: October 26th & 29th Next to Christmas, Halloween is the biggest retail season of the year. Buy Wednesday, Get Friday Ad 50% off + FREE COLOR (Orange) on your ad both days! DEADLINE: Mon., October 24.

ALCOHOL AWARENESS PAGES: Oct. 31 & Nov. 2 Join CM LIFE in promoting responsible drinking and designated driving during the Central/Western week. DEADLINE: Mon., October 29

COUPON PAGES: November 5, 12, 19 & 26 Follow up your Campus Cash Coupons with new special deals, bring more consumers into your business. DEADLINE: Fri., Nov. 2.

LAST HOME FOOTBALL GAMES: November 14 & 16 Take advantage of our special home games 50% off sale! Ahh..nothing like a home game! DEADLINE: Mon., November 12

NOVEMBER QUARTER PAGE SPECIAL Buy a Quarter page ad or larger during the month of November and get one FREE front page strip ad! $395 value.

NOV/DEC ONLINE & PRINT SPECIALS Package your print ad with an online ad for a 1-2 punch to more than 103,778 readers. Buy an online leaderboard ad, get a front page strip ad free AND/OR buy a 15” ad and get an online rectangle ad at 50% off!

989.774.3493

6B || Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

www.cm-life.com

FIND THE GOLDEN TICKET The

hunt IS

FIND TODAY’S

GOLDEN TICKET

is offering you a

Golden Ticket DATE

PLACE

October 8, 2012

moore 425

On!

CM Life Golden

Opportunity a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate

c o n g r a t u l a t i o n s ! Yo u ’ ve f o u n d t h e G o l d e n T i c ke t ! P l e a s e b r i n g t h i s t i c ke t i n t o t h e c m l i f e o f f i c e , m o o r e 4 2 5 t o c l a i m yo u r p r i ze .

A Golden Ticket will be discreetly placed inside a CM Life paper every publishing day throughout October.

JAN. - DEC. MONTHLY EFFORTS:

ADVERTISER NEWSLETTERS Twice a month, the PR staff communicates to our advertisers all the promotions and special sections CM LIFE is working on, so our local businesses can be part of the action. In addition, each newsletter features an article, reinforcing the advertiser’s decision to promote in the student newspaper or the student market. This newsletter is sent to our advertiser email list, plus posted on our advertising website.

advertising@cm-life.com

TODAY’S SPONSOR:

If found, please bring the ticket into the CM Life advertising office, Moore 425, to

clAIm yOur prIze! Find the ticket and win a $25 Gift Certificate to Hungry Howies!

clAim YOuR PRize! Thank you to our sponsors:

Bring your ticket into the CM Life advertising office, Moore 425.

the Plate Boutique

RiveR Run GeneRal StoRe

Robaire’s

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS the Plate Boutique

RiveR Run GeneRal StoRe

Robaire’s BAKERY

BAKeRY

HALLOWEEN

COUNTRY Located inside

Black Tie Tuxedo and Costume Shop

1. The infamous CMU Medallion, and first clue on A2 of CM LIFE; 2. Example of Advertiser Newsletters. These are shared with advertisers via email and/or sales calls; 3. The Golden Ticket promo: Actual tickets; Full page ad and 1/4 page ad sample.

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Promotional Plan Full page ads in the paper, bus shelter posters, posters and flyers placed around campus.1. Uncle Sam; 2. Honest Abe; 3. Lady Liberty; 4. Patriotic Group. 6A || Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

HHH

www.cm-life.com

MOUNT PLEASANT HOUSING FAIR

HHH

6A || Monday, Oct. 29, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

www.cm-life.com

MOUNT PLEASANT HOUSING FAIR

HHH

HOUSING FAIR:

We CAN HeLp YOU

sAve peNNIes ON YOUR NeXt

HOme

i Want You t o

F i n d

t H e

best Place to live Olivieri Management

H Cherry Street Town Houses H Heritage Square H Franklin Village H Oakridge Apartments

cis ion thi sy ea r!

H H H H

H H H H H H H H

HHH mt. pLeAsANt

NOv 6. BOVEE U.C. ROTUNDA • 3PM - 6PM

HOUsING FAIR HHH

BOVEE U.C. ROTUNDA • 3PM - 6PM

Housing Fair HHH I’m ABRAHAm LINCOLN, ANd I AppROve tHIs messAGe.

i’M uncle saM, and i aPProve tHis Message.

Costume Credit: Halloween Country Black Tie Tuxedo & Costume Shop, 1017 S. Mission, Mt. Pleasant

6B || Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

HHH

H H H H

BROUGHT TO yOU By:

nov 6.

Free Food! door PriZes!

United Apartments Deerfield Village Emerald Village Hickory Lane Jamestown Apartments Main Street Polo Village Southpoint Village Union Square Washington Village West Campus Village Western Islands Westpoint Village

econd most importa e the s nt de mak cisio n th is y ear !

HHH Mt. Pleasant

BROUGHT TO yOU By:

FRee FOOd! dOOR pRIZes!

PARTiCiPATiNg APARTMENTS AND TOwNHOMES: H Copper Beech Townhomes H United Apartments H Colony west H Deerfield Village H University Meadows H Emerald Village H Village at Bluegrass H Hickory Lane H Tallgrass Apartments H Jamestown Apartments H 1200 west Campus Apartments H Main Street H Appian way H Polo Village H Casa Loma Apartments H Southpoint Village H Lexington Ridge Apartments H Union Square econd most im H washington Village e the s port k H west Campus Village a m ant H western islands H westpoint Village de

Copper Beech Townhomes Colony West University Meadows Village at Bluegrass Tallgrass Apartments 1200 West Campus Apartments Appian Way Casa Loma Apartments Lexington Ridge Apartments Olivieri Management Cherry Street Town Houses Heritage Square Franklin Village Oakridge Apartments

cm-life.com

MOUNT PLEASANT HOUSING FAIR

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eXerCiSe your

freeDom 3 To fiND The

beST pLaCe

6A || Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 || Central Michigan Life

★★★

cm-life.com

MOUNT PLEASANT HOUSING FAIR

★★★

THE RACE FOR THE

RIGHT HOUSE!

To Live

iN ToWN!

priZeS! econd most importa e the s nt de mak cisio n th is y ear !

BROUGHT TO yOU By:

H H H H

H H H H H H H H H H H H

HHH mT. pLeaSaNT

Nov 6. BOVEE U.C. ROTUNDA • 3PM - 6PM

houSiNG fair HHH

FREE FOOD! DOOR PRIZES! ECOND MOST IMPORTA E THE S NT DE MAK CISIO N TH IS Y EAR !

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

PARTICIPATING APARTMENTS AND TOWNHOMES:

Door

participating apartments and townhomes: H H H H H H H H H H

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Colony West Copper Beech Townhomes University Meadows Village at Bluegrass Tallgrass Apartments 1200 West Campus Apartments Appian Way Casa Loma Apartments Lexington Ridge Apartments Olivieri Management Cherry Street Town Houses Heritage Square Franklin Village Oakridge Apartments

★

★ ★ ★ ★

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

★★★ MT. PLEASANT

NOV 6. BOVEE U.C. ROTUNDA • 3PM - 6PM

HOUSING FAIR ★★★

The STaTue of LiberTy approveS ThiS meSSaGe. Costume Credit: Halloween Country Black Tie Tuxedo & Costume Shop, 1017 S. Mission, Mt. Pleasant

Our PR staff came up with four different slogans that worked historically with patriotism, presidents, USA, etc. We ended up using Uncle Sam, Honest Abe Lincoln, Lady Liberty and a patriotic group shot. The creative team set up photo and video shoots for each theme, worked on scripts for the videos and ad copy for the print ads. They negotiated with a local costume shop for trade, and our creative staff put the finishing touches on the designs. The staff also created 2-20 second videos spoofing their characters. The videos were posted on CM LIFE’s Facebook page, the Housing Fair event page and the PR and Advertising teams also posted to their own personal Facebook pages to get people sharing. This event also helps promote CM LIFE as a source for the latest and most complete information on apartments in Mt. Pleasant.

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The Mt. Pleasant Housing Fair is an annual event held on campus and hosted by CM LIFE. This event is a public relations effort for our largest group of advertisers, Mt. Pleasant apartment complexes. Ten of our top 20 accounts are housing units in the Mt. Pleasant community. They also support our 3x per year Apartment Life magazine. This free event is a thank you PR effort to them for their loyal business. This year’s event presented a challenge as it was scheduled on Election Day. Our PR staff decided to embrace that message and play on the theme of the “second most important decision you will make this year”. To create buzz for this event we wanted to create some creative, maybe even corny, messages that would be memorable in the minds of students. Our goal was to get readers talking, laughing, commenting and sharing with friends. This would help create top of mind awareness for the event.

MT. PLEASANT HOUSING FAIR PARTIcIPATING APARTMENTS ANd TOwNHOMES: H H H H H H H H H H

NOVEMBER

WE ARE CM LIFE AND WE APPROVE THIS MESSAGE. Costume Credit: Halloween Country Black Tie Tuxedo & Costume Shop, 1017 S. Mission, Mt. Pleasant

We promote this event with full-page advertisements, online rectangle ads, social media postings, chalking, bus shelter advertising, rack posters and flyers around campus. CM LIFE brings in more than 1,000 students to talk with area apartment complexes and landlords. At this event, CM LIFE also distributes its Fall/Winter issue of Apartment Life magazine.