Ninertimes

Best PR Manager Sara Karimipour

STUDENT NINER MEDIA - UNC CHARLOTTE 9 2 0 1 U N I V E R S I T Y C I T Y B LV D , C H A R LOT T E , N C 2 8 2 2 3 - 0 0 0 1

December 2, 2013

CNBAM Awards Committee: I am writing to recommend Sara Karimipour for the CNBAM PR/Marketing Manager Award.

I have had the honor of working with Sara in Student Niner Media Marketing though the Fall Semester when she became the Promotions Coordinator.

From the moment I met Sara I knew she was one of a kind. She carried herself in a professional manner but still found a way to have a great sense of humor around the office. She is the type of person you want on your team - she is responsible, kind, honest, and will do anything to ease tension and keep a great atmosphere around her.

Sara is a great worker as well. She took on the role of promotions coordinator with ease. Immediately, she interviewed and hired the first-ever street team for Student Niner Media. She created a promotions schedule and had the street team hit the ground running.

She was selected to attend the Student Niner Media Retreat and the SUN Conference. She was proactive in sharing ideas and taking the steps necessary to make those ideas come to fruition. We’ve had events on almost a weekly basis since Sara became the Promotions Coordinator. And her ideas know no bounds. She also has big plans for the launch of our Mobile App. I look forward to seeing what Sara has in store for next semester and I can think of no one more fitting for this award.

Thank you for your consideration.

With common interest,

Kelly Merges Assistant Director of Student Media

December 20th, 2013 To whom it may concern: I am recommending Sara Karimpour for CNBAM’s Promotions Coordinator of the Year Award. Sara became the promotions coordinator in August 2013. We knew she would be a perfect fit for this position, as she is currently a sophomore studying communications. She is also a news anchor for Nineronline.

She stepped in the role with a lot of motivation and great ideas. Her first plan of action of was to form a street team. She held interviews and hired four qualified candidates to be on-the-scene to promote Student Niner Media. Sara has been able to hold on to the motivation throughout the semester and keep our street team motivated as well. This was the first year our school had a football team, so she had to quickly learn how to best put the street team to work and use the home football games to our advantage.

She was able to map out locations for the most highly populated areas before home football games so that our street team could hand out football previews to the fans. She also set up a weekly schedule so that the Niner Times would be promoted to students. Lastly, she planned one big event each month with the street team so that students would know about the Niner Times and would be more encouraged to pick it up.

Overall, Sara is a great asset to Niner Media. She has been able to communicate with the other department heads and is always willing to help when needed even if it isn’t a part of her job description. I am glad to have her working by my side.

Sincerely,

Emmanuel Loredo Marketing Director Student Niner Media

Student Niner Media Marketing Plan Summary Sara Karimipour In a continued effort to not only increase revenue, but also to increase readership, there are several events we held during the year that were both internal and external. All served the common purpose of promoting Student Niner Media and all of its products.

We started our year off with SOAR sessions. These orientation sessions were the first place that more than 5,000 incoming freshmen learned about Student Niner Media. This was a great opportunity to meet individuals interested in working for the street team.

The week before school started, we held our annual workshops. This three-day event welcomed students recruited through the SOAR sessions. They were able see how each different area of Student Niner Media operated before deciding which area they would like to work in. I was able to hire three students for my street team through workshops.

When the first issue was published, we put the street team to work for our Pizza and a Paper event.

It was held in front of the Student Union with Student Niner Media staff handing out more than 320 slices of pizza along with the Welcome Back issue.

The street team was instrumental in helping UNC Charlotte welcome its first football team this year!

Student Niner Media staff produced the GoldRush, an inserted special section that ran in the regular issue before each home game. To sweeten the pot for advertisers and fans, the street team passed out the GoldRush at strategic locations before each home game.

As promotions manager, I was selected to attend the annual Student Media Retreat.

Along with other student leaders, we were able to reflect on last year and brainstorm ideas for the current year. It was helpful to work with others to think of ways to better promote all departments to the student body.

In addition to the retreat, I was also selected to attend the Southern University Newspapers Conference (SUN) in Raleigh. I was able to meet students from other universities across the east coast that were looking to accomplish the same goals. We were able to brainstorm and I was ready to implement those ideas upon my return.

A new event we held this year was Popcorn and a Paper. We worked with our campus food service company to get popcorn and placed labels on the popcorn bags promoting all of the Student Media departments and products.

Another initiative was at Halloween. Dressed in costumes, the street team passed out candy along with the current issue that featured the Halloween Theme page.

Planned Activities for Spring:

App Launch Party: For January we are having an App Launch Party. In preparation for the event, Student Niner Media staff has been able to garner 22 gift cards from area businesses valued at $520. There will also be an iPad giveaway. All students who download the app can fill out a two-question survey to be entered to win the iPad. The event will be promoted on social media, as well as with print and online ads.

All of this is in an effort to get people to use the app, therefore increase awareness of Student Niner Media.

Valentines day: In light of Valentines Day, we are going to have a sex survey, and we will publish the results in the next Niner Times, we will also pass out candy/sweets in return for likes/ follows on FB/twitter.

Easter: We will have the street team dress up in bunny costumes with Easter eggs in baskets containing information on how to like /follow Niner Media on FB and Twitter.

JOB DESCRIPTION PROMOTIONS COORDINATOR Media Marketing The Promotions Coordinator is responsible for the PR of all of Niner Media and its departments.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Maintain at least 10 office hours per week between the hours of 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday through Friday, accountable to the Marketing Director • Attends all Marketing staff meetings • Manages volunteers to the promotions team • Plans and runs all promotional events • Works with members of each Niner Media department to ensure all staff participation and inclusion in promotional events • Maintains all social media activity • Does related work as needed.

Required Knowledge and Skills:

• Must be a student currently enrolled at UNC Charlotte • Must possess and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 • Must be in good academic standing with UNC Charlotte For further information, contact: Kelly Merges, Marketing Adviser, Student Union, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 Phone 704.687.7136 The University of North Carolina is composed of the 16 public senior institutions in North Carolina.

An equal opportunity employer By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understand the above job description which outlines the responsibilities as well as qualifications for the position stated. I also understand that by not fulfilling the responsibilities listed above, I can face termination from the position stated.

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STUDENT NINER MEDIA MARKETING AND PROMOTION SCHEDULE

June and July SOAR Sessions Survival Guide and Parents Survival Guide distributed to more than 5,000 incoming freshmen and their parents August Niner Media Workshops August 14-16 Pizza and a Paper Pass out Goldrush issue prior to football game August 27 Pass out Goldrush issue prior to football game August 31 August through May House Ads in Niner Times and on Nineronline Employee of the Month ads run regularly September Pass out Goldrush issue prior to football game September 7 Pass out Goldrush issue prior to football game September 14 Student Niner Media Retreat September 20-22 Southern University Newspapers Conference September 23-24 in Raleigh, NC Popcorn and a Paper September 26

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October Popcorn and a Paper October 1 Pass out regular issue featuring Halloween Theme Page In costume, hand out candy October 29 November Pass out Goldrush issue prior to football game November 9 Pass out regular issues November 19

Planned activities for Spring: Mobile App Launch Party January 14 Pass out Valentine’s Day issue with candy February 11 Pass out Living Guide February 25 Pass out first-ever Spring Fever Issue March 25 Pass out Easter candy while dressed in bunny costumes, along with current issue April 15

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