A PLANSBOOK FOR REACHING DECISION MAKERS CAMPAIGN PLANNING | SPRING 2013 Jessica Scarpati, Jenna McPadden, Regina Lutskiy, Rachel Dunnigan, Kelsey Lemmon, Jaafar Layachi
TABLE OF CONTENTS SITUATION & OPPORTUNITIES The Goal The Target Strategic Insights BRANDING Verbal Identity Strategic Intent Brand Message Brand Voice STRATEGY Building Awareness Promoting Credibility Driving to Purchase IMPLEMENTATION Timeline Measuring Success Financing National Rollout APPENDIX Contact Lists Pitch Letter
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SITUATION & OPPORTUNITIES
THE GOAL Drive decision makers to purchase eLearning content and / or subscriptions. The objective is to build awareness through credibility and proof of effectiveness by the end of the 2014-2015 academic year.
THE TARGET AUDIENCE
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS & SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTORS WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THEM? These individuals are the decision makers and purchasers—they hold the responsibility for not only mainstream teachers and Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI), but also their students, who have visual impairments, including those with additional disabilities. Together, administrators and special education directors work to meet the goals set in each student’s IEP, while adhering to the yearly budget. Over concern about cost, the decision makers focus on checking for empirical data to support resource effectiveness, including, but not limited to peer reviews specifying proven results.
THEIR MOTIVATORS & LIMITATIONS • Meeting educational guidelines • Empirical / testimonial data • Professional development budget developed and finalized by June of each academic year
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STRATEGIC INSIGHTS • Decision makers are influenced by teachers who are pressured by parents to try the latest solutions. • Credibility determines perception of effectiveness & worth.
THE IDEA All teachers are essentially an advertising channel for catching the attention of decision makers and proving the effectiveness of the resources they request.
THE PROOF POINTS • Administrators work with teachers to coordinate common planning times, reviews of lesson plans, and subject material for mainstreamed students with additional needs. • While decision makers look to established programs for successful recommendations, i.e. APH, AER, etc. Looking through trade journals for these is time-consuming. Teachers reference online social content for resources and then speak to the decision makers about purchase potential. • Adoption of the Common Core across 47 states affects teachers directly. They will be searching for accommodating materials to meet the curriculum as well as the Individualized Education Plans.
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BRANDING VERBAL IDENTITY Verbal Identity refers to the communicative qualities that bring a brand’s personality to life. People have a core identity, yet express different parts of their personality to different degrees, depending on the situation; the same holds true for brands. Perkins eLearning faces a unique situation; it will have to shape an identifiable tone of voice into consistent messaging that reaches a number of different audiences. It is our belief that Perkins can be most successful in appealing to these numerous groups by employing variations of one unifying verbal identity.
This will serve as a guide for how to tell eLearning’s brand story.
STRATEGIC INTENT Regardless of who is engaging on behalf of the Perkins eLearning brand online, publishing content, etc., there should be no confusion as to what the brand sounds like. By identifying an all-encompassing goal, Perkins can allow for a variety of methodologies or tactics to be used depending on which approach is best for the moment and the audience, without drastically changing the brand’s motives.
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BRAND MESSAGE
Delivering on the Perkins’ brand leadership and the strive to deliver up-to-date solutions, the verbal identity of Perkins eLearning should be warm yet professional.
The major areas of distinction the brand should focus on are:
• The legacy of Perkins School for the Blind • The opportunity for everyday professional development. • The fulfillment of objectives set in each student’s IEP.
Perkin’s Strategic Intent is to drive the purchase of eLearning. The secondary objectives are to build awareness, promote credibility, and gather proof of effectiveness.
Prioritized by this order, all of these goals should be emphasized in online content and social activities, although execution tactics may vary.
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BRAND VOICE While the Strategic Intent (objectives) and Brand Message (theme) will never change, different campaigns, mediums, etc. often require a fluctuation in tone to best accommodate the situation and the constituency. Below are the main voices Perkins eLearning should use:
Confident – As a leader in the field, Perkins School for the Blind has established a trustworthy reputation among educators of students with visual impairments. eLearning is a new extension, yet it provides the same quality of insight that is found on the Perkins campus.
Supportive – Understanding, compassionate, and knowledgeable, Perkins eLearning is a tool-kit that can be used as a resource for professional development any day of the year.
Empowering – It goes without saying that teaching a student with visual impairments for the first time may be a daunting task for any teacher. Concerned about the student’s success above their own, they can look to Perkins eLearning as a voice of inspiration and encouragement that cares about their success as well. Further on, we will provide guidelines for executing these qualities on social media and through other creative tactics.
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So far, we’ve looked at the goal, the message, and the brand voice, but what happens when we bring all these things together?
GOAL MESSAGE + VOICE ----------- ??
e l guid at wil gy h t e ne lin strate The o ar keting the m
An encouraging personality providing dynamic guidance, Perkins eLearning drives the process of teaching and the product of learning.
As the Perkins brand and all school administrators know, each child with visual impairment and possibly other disabilities requires unique attention, yet deserves the opportunity to learn in a mainstream environment.
Perkins eLearning provides the support that can be applied to an unlimited range of educational circumstances and that can yield success. Decision makers, teachers, parents, content developers, and funders all want to be assured of this in every message Perkins conveys.
With the brand-message differentiators in mind, this strategic positioning phrase will provide direction and guidance for all social media and online content, and establish a verbal identity eLearning can continue to build on for the future.
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR REACHING DECISION MAKERS? Perkins eLearning must build the trust of the teachers it serves through high-quality content that is unavailable from any other source. By using its legacy and leadership in the field of educating children with visual impairments and additional disabilities, Perkins must collect and communicate teacher testimonials and results of student progress to win over the decision makers.
STRATEGY BUILDING AWARENESS Twitter Public Relations Online Video Paid Media Sponsor a Teacher Contest
PROMOTING CREDIBILITY Testimonials Email List Development Statistical data
DRIVING TO PURCHASE Paywall system User registration Media push
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LAUNCHING A PILOT PROGRAM By starting the campaign in neighboring regions, Perkins can leverage their existing brand reputation to promote the extension of eLearning to a more receptive audience. We suggest first branching out to New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. From there, this plan can be adjusted for a larger-scale, national campaign.
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GEOGRAPHIC TARGETS
BUILDING AWARENESS
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INFLUENCER OUTREACH To develop a social media presence, there are various tribes of Twitter users Perkins eLearning will want to reach: 1. Special Education 2. eLearning 3. Public School Districts These audiences are already active on
This presents a significant
Twitter; Perkins can find, follow and
opportunity for Perkins to reach
interact with them to grow an online
out to administrators who are
fan base. It is also becoming more
already interested in using digital
common for individual school admin-
solutions. Doing so would allow
istrators to utilize platforms such as
for the collection of valuable in-
Twitter and Facebook to connect with
formation about the online habits
parents, teachers, students, fellow
and needs of decision makers.
administrators and funders.
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CONSIDERATIONS PROS
CONS
• Build mini-campaigns • Engage with constituencies • In real time
• Requires on-the-spot dialogue • Using variations of content and fluctuations in voice • To speak to each constituency
BEST PRACTICES • Build “mini-campaigns” by using repetitive hashtags over time. • Involve and activate your online community of school administrators by tweeting not only about brand content development, but also about nationwide education resources and developments. • Engage in conversation – ask questions, reach out to your followers, and have a point of view.
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TWITTER [CONTINUED] CONVEY CONFIDENCE • Promote brand developments • Report subscription milestones • Crowd-source success stories—users want to share, and their 140 character stories will serve as testimonial content to retweet and use for proof of effectiveness.
#eLearning #Perkinsgoldstar
PROVIDE SUPPORT • Twitter is a platform for followers to reach out directly for customer service. • Be ready to answer like you would answer an email. • Foster an approachable personality by responding to both positive and negative feedback. • Share helpful tips about how to get started and use eLearning.
#eLearning #eLearninghelp #Perkinstips
BE EMPOWERING • Share educational tips, resources and news, not only from Perkins but from other credible channels. • Congratulate success stories. • Announce new content in terms of what it will accomplish. • Use hashtags that reference the goals of the IEP:
Social media should be a channel for offering helpful tips that contribute to the goals set in IEPs—not to mention an outlet for replying to success stories with congratulatory words. It’s about showing your followers that you care.
#Perkinselearning #socialskills #sensoryeffeciency #careereducation #mobilityskills
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ONLINE VIDEO
COMBINING VISUALS WITH VOICE Tone of voice should empathize with the feeling of unpreparedness teachers may face when teaching students with visual impairments and other disabilities. The first-person narration may hint at this, but must emphasize the everyday confidence the Perkins eLearning resources provide. Voiceovers will always take the perspective of the Perkins brand. They will validate the effectiveness of eLearning resources and may also speak to the content or statistics, when appropriate. Voiceovers will hone the legacy of the brand. • Attend to the teacher’s perspective • Emphasize familiar classroom resources • Focus on the mainstream setting
16 :30 STORYBOARD
Narrator: I’ve been teaching for over 20 years, and I can still say each of my students is unique. pans across empty classroom
Narrator: One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is from Perkins eLearning. That is., . . . clicks onto perkinselearning.org
Narrator: Each one learns from a different point of view, globe spins on its own
Narrator: sometimes, the best resources are those you discover outside of the classroom. zooms out from computer screen
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Narrator: And faces their own personal challenges. pans up to reveal each subject and the chalkboard.
fades to white, reveals eLearning logo
Narrator: But everyday, I find opportunities to learn from them, and teach them in new ways. pans across front of classroom and more resources.
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PAID MEDIA
For a media campaign, we suggest using Email blasts, Google AdWords and banner ads to target decision makers and teachers who could benefit from learning more about eLearning and who may be interested in participating in the ‘Sponsor a Teacher’ contest. These paid advertisements and Email blasts will make it easier for perspective purchasers to gain awareness of eLearning, learn more by clicking through to the website, and then decide if it is the right product for their school’s professional development efforts. Using paid media is crucial for this campaign; therefore, $27,000 of the $50,000 budget will be used to ensure that it will be successful.
19 BANNER ADS
ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS REACH
THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL.
YOUR TEACHERS ARE EXCEPTIONAL. NOW YOU CAN SHOW THEM THEY ARE.
Find out how to nominate a teacher for an all-expenses-paid trip to the CASE Conference.
MEDIA SCHEDULE GOOGLE ADWORDS
(PAID) APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY
EMAIL BLASTS (PAID)
HIGH HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM
MEDIUM HIGH MEDIUM HIGH LOW
BANNER ADS (PAID)
HIGH HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM
HIGH HIGH MEDIUM MEDIUM LOW
MEDIUM HIGH MEDIUM HIGH LOW
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BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN AWARENESS AND CREDIBILITY Now that a plan to gain attention has been established, we must convince school administrators and special education directors to purchase eLearning. The decision makers want to be assured their choice is backed up by the guarantee of success for both their teachers and their students. To prove this, we suggest Perkins eLearning hold a contest to send nominated teachers to a conference focused on special education, where they will have a hands-on, memorable experience of professional development. School budgets may restrict administrators from sending teachers to such conferences. By sponsoring teachers on behalf of their schools, Perkins eLearning can show their support for educational resources that extend beyond classroom time. At the conference, teachers will interact with eLearning resources and we will collect feedback. At the same time, they will experience all the conference has to offer. When they return home to their schools knowing Perkins made this experience possible, eLearning will be top-of-mind. When school administrators hear about all that their teachers learned at the conference, they will seek more affordable, accessible, and reliable opportunities to continue the professional development. And that’s where eLearning steps in.
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‘SPONSOR A TEACHER’ CONTEST
• 3-day, all-expenses-paid trip to the CASE Conference • Entry form for nominations • Testimonial booth for promotional content development
ABOUT CASE: “CASE is an international professional educational organization which is affiliated with the Council for Exceptional Children whose members are dedicated to the enhancement of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual in society. Those who receive special education services are individuals who possess basic rights and responsibilities, and who command respect at all times.
Special education embraces the right to a free appropriate public education. The Mission of the Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc. is to provide leadership and support to members by shaping policies and practices which impact the quality of education.” www.casecec.org
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SPONSORSHIP NOMINATION APPLICATION These questions have been formulated to be answered by teachers who would like to enter the selective contest. Another version, using the same question concepts can be used by school administrators to nominate the teachers they believe are exceptional.
1. Discuss a significant experience, achievement, or risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced in the classroom and how it impacted you. What could you have done differently? How could you have been better prepared to handle this? 2. Discuss any concerns you have about the current special education curriculum at your school. How can opportunities for professional development help to alleviate some of these issues? 3. Describe a student who has had a significant influence on you. What made this student unique, and how were you affected as a teacher?
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PUBLIC RELATIONS
We suggest Perkins eLearning implement various public relations tactics to spread the word about the ‘Sponsor A Teacher’ Contest. Because the target audience is so specific, a few niche publications have been selected to be sent a pitch letter and accompanying press release. (See Appendix for pitch letter) The primary goal will be to have an article or announcement included in an edition of the journal or publication that will be published before the contest takes place. A secondary goal will be to peak the publication’s interest about Perkins eLearning programs in general, and for coverage on the progress of this new Perkins extension.
Various publications fit these needs, but three specific ones have been selected for initial focus: • Education Week • eSchool News • American Educator Education Week also has a version that reaches teachers specifically. Each publication has both physical and online subscriptions.
PROMOTING CREDIBILITY TESTIMONIALS By utilizing the first-hand resources of the ‘Sponsor A Teacher’ contest, eLearning would have direct access to video and written information that presents the brand in a positive light, as helping teachers teach. This information can then be generated into new content for advertising, as well as for internal site development and product awareness.
EMAIL LIST DEVELOPMENT As part of the ‘Sponsor A Teacher’ contest and website adjustments, eLearning will begin to generate its own internal Email lists, which will contain already-interested persons within the target audience. (See Appendix for links to contact lists)
STATISTICAL DATA Special Education Directors cite the strong importance of empirical data as a purchasing influence. Data is prioritized over price in terms of decision-making condsiderations. By utilizing stronger data gathering methods including, but not limited to website analytics and anecdotal information, more statistics can be gathered for future content creation and proof of effectiveness.
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DRIVING TO PURCHASE
PAYWALL SYSTEM In order to generate revenue through the eLearning site, a paywall system would be the most beneficial system to utilize. By creating a paywall at the end of the 2013-2014 academic year, all impressions and leads that are generated will be directly exposed to a paid-content system. By allowing some trial content to be available without purchase, potential buyers will have the opportunity to interact with the product before making a final decision.
USER REGISTRATION In order to regulate an effective paywall system, eLearning would need to develop a user-registration system. Such a system would better allow for site tracking and analytic measurement, as well as provide the eLearning team with more comprehensive user profiles for future marketing efforts.
MEDIA PUSH By utilizing a second strong media push, eLearning would be able to capitalize on an already engaged and interested audience from the previous marketing efforts, and be able to time the advertising to directly influence the target during purchasing season. As the brand name would have been established through stronger impressions and connections, this push would be centered on the dri to purchase the eLearning programs.
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IMPLEMENTATION
Begin content creation, incl. video & social media content calendars
APR
MAY Begin paid media campaign
End of academic year
Implement user-registration and paywall systems
JUNE
JULY
Conference Sponsorship submissions open
Send pitch letters to publications
2014
Begin developing Email list
AUG
SEPT
Sponsored teachers announced
OCT
Conference nomination submissions due Beginning of academic year.
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TIMELINE
CASE Conference San Antonio, TX Nov. 13-15 Email campaign begins
NOV
DEC
JAN
Begin second wave of content creation incl. videos, testimonials
School budget consideration begins
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
Paid media push Professional development budget is reviewed and finalized
2015
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MEASURING SUCCESS
ANALYTICS & MEDIA IMPRESSIONS Analytics will allow Perkins to measure the time visitors spend on their site and the interest they have in different pages. More time spent on the site means the greater chance of a lead (user registration and/or purchase), and the more pages they view the more likely they are to purchase.
CONTEST SUBMISSIONS The conference contest will not only direct leads to the eLearning site, but it will also allow for measurable audience development. The more submissions Perkins receives, the greater the sample population will be. From these submissions, Perkins can gain contact information for further promotions as well as useful demographic and psychographic information for audience segmentation.
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EMAIL SERVER DEVELOPMENT By developing an Email server of contact information for specific geographic areas, eLearning will be able to send out newsletters and other content that is most relevant to the individuals of these larger communities. Rates of views, click-throughs, and direct outreach will all serve as measurements of success.
USER REGISTRATION Implementing a user-registration system will allow Perkins to track the profiles of their audiences as well as times in which interest in eLearning peaks. By seeing if these spikes in registration coincide with media schedules, Perkins will be able to refine and measure the success of media scheduling.
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FINANCING
Perkins eLearning: School Administrators & Special Education Directors CASE Conference Conference Fee Hotel Rate Flight Gift Basket: pens USB drives Mousepads Water Bottles Paywall Fees Setup & Training Monthly Access Transaction Fees Media Budget Banner Ads Google Ad Words Email Blasts Misc Taxes Fees User Registration System Statisical Analysis Budget Total
Quantity $500 $117 $430
10 2 nights x5 10
$32 $192 $80 $8 $216
10 24 10 10
$10,686 $5,000 $1,170 $4,300
$216
$3,500 $150 per month 10% .15 each click $1,000 per month
$5,300 $3,500 $1,800 $27,000 $11,000 $11,000 $5,000 $7,014
$50,000
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NATIONAL ROLLOUT
By making small adjustments to this campaign based on the results of the first soft launch, this campaign can be applied on a national level. Before a national campaign, it would be vital to set a larger objective and potentially numeric goals based on the gathered user registration information, and number of purchases and/or subscriptions. As an important note, new content will most likely need to be developed to continue to capture the attention of a larger, more segmented audience, as it is possible that the Perkins brand-name influence will wane slightly as geographic boundaries are widened.
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APPENDIX
CONTACT LISTS New York Public School Districts—Administrators http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/schoolDirectory/public/SECTION-II.pdf Maine Public School Distrcits—Superintendents https://www.medms.maine.gov/medms_public/ReportPortal/ShowReport. aspx?CurrentLocation=/Public+Reports/Directory+of+Maine+Schools/ Superintendent+of+Schools Vermont Public School Districts—Superintendents & Supervisory Union http://education.vermont.gov/new/pdfdoc/directories/EDU-List_of_Vermont_ Superintendents_by_Supervisory_Union.pdf http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/directories/public_schools_A_C.html New Hampshire Public School Districts—Administrators http://my.doe.nh.gov/Profiles/PublicReports/PublicReportsaspx?ReportName= SchoolList
2 PITCH LETTER Dear [Contact at publication], For over 180 years, Perkins School for the Blind has been the leader in teaching children who are blind, deafblind, or visually impaired. Unfortunately, not all families have the means to relocate and attend the campus in Watertown, MA. That’s why Perkins has launched a new, online initiatve, Perkins e-Learning. The eLearning resources will help teachers across the United States access the strategies and content necessary to properly educate students with visual impairments, inlcuding those with additional disabilities. eLearning provides teachers with easy-to-use tools for professional development. Currently, many students with disabilities are placed in mainstream classrooms, but struggle to adapt completely— just as the teachers struggle to implement new methods. Perkins continues to develop eLearning content with the goal of giving all teachers the knowledge to present class material in the fairest and most understandable ways. With these Internet-accessible resources, teachers will assure administrators, parents, and students that the goals of the IEPs will be fulfilled. Perkins also recognizes that school administrators and Special Education Directors are selective when deciding on professional development programs for their teachers. For this reason, Perkins is holding a contest to send exceptional teachers, who are nominated by their administrators, to the CASE Convention. Here, they will have the opportunity to interact with Perkins e-Learning and enjoy the beneficial professional development experiences this convention offers. After the sweepstakes and convention, the participating schools will continue to have access to eLearning as a way to extend their exposure to credible and effective teaching—and learning—resources. [Link to details of the contest] If you have any questions or would like more information on this opportunity, please contact Kevin Bauman at [phone number/email]. Sincerely, [Sender] Perkins School for the Blind
THE TEAM
JENNA MCPADDEN | ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT & PLANNING jennamcpadden@gmail.com JESSICA SCARPATI | BRANDING & CREATIVE jess.scarpati@gmail.com | www.jessicascarpati.com REGINA LUTSKIY | PROMOTIONS & FINANCING regina.lutskiy@gmail.com RACHEL DUNNIGAN | PUBLIC RELATIONS rachelmdunnigan@gmail.com KELSEY LEMMON | MEDIA PLANNING kalemmon90@gmail.com JAAFAR LAYACHI | RESEARCH j_layachi@hotmail.com