FOOD FOR BLACK THOUGHT A STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS PLAN BY T.E.A.M. COMMUNICATIONS April - December 2013
PR 348 - Spring 2013 Completed May 3, 2013 Thuydung Vo, Esmeralda Coronado, Attiya Ali, Stamatia Toumanidis
M E E T T H E T. E . A . M.
T A BLE OF C ON T E N T S 01 TABLE OF CONTENTS 02 MEET THE T.E.A.M. 03 AN INTRODUCTION 04 FFBT Purpose 05 Executive Summary 06 Background 07 Situational Analysis 08 S.W.O.T. Analysis 09 Our Research 10 Our Research cont’d 11 Audience 12 GOALS 13 Goal 1: Online 14 Goal 2: Offline 15 STRATEGIES, TACTICS, CHANNELS & MESSAGES 16 Strategies 17 Strategies cont’d 18 Tactics 19 Channels & Messages 20 LOGISTICS 21 Calendar 22 Calendar cont’d 23 Budget 24 Our Final Evaluation 25 APPENDIX 26 Mock Flyer 27 Promotional Video Campaign 28 Mock Press Release 29 Mock Pitch Letter 1
THUY VO
is from Sugar Land, Texas. She is currently a junior at The University of Texas pursuing a degree in public relations and a business foundations certification. Thuy enjoys singing off-key, DIY projects, watching the Food Network and exploring Austin. Thuy’s favorite food is brownies à la mode.
ESMERALDA CORONADO
Esmeralda Coronado is a third-year journalism and public relations major at The University of Texas at Austin. After graduation, Coronado hopes to get her master’s in journalism abroad. In her spare time, she loves reading, painting and watching films. Her favorite food is a mexican dish called entomatadas.
ATTIYA ALI
Attiya is currently a third-year public relations major at The University of Texas at Austin pursuing a B.S. in Public Relations and a Business Foundations Certificate. Attiya hopes to go into agency work after graduation focusing primarily in the consumer/lifestyle practice and digital analytics. Attiya’s favorite place to eat is Chipotle.
MATINA TOUMANIDIS
is a third-year public relations student at The University of Texas at Austin. Matina’s interests lie in the field of science and engineering communications. A native of Kavala, Greece, Matina enjoys spending her time cooking traditional Greek food and spending time with family.
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AN INTRODUCTION
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“FOOD FOR BLACK THOUGHT IS AN ORGANIZATION AND ACTION SYMPOSIUM FOCUSED ON BUILDING AND SUSTAINING ACCESS TO FOOD IN BLACK COMMUNITIES.” --@FFBTATX
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EX ECUTIVE S UM M A RY T.E.A.M. Communications met up with Food for Black Thought in order to establish a plan that will help bring the organization to the next level. After speaking with the co-founders Dr. Kevin Thomas and Naya Jones, we realized that this young organization needs to create awareness beyond the academic realm and into the East Austin community. Our first goal is to establish a destination for information on Food for Black Thought online. We will go about this by integrating FFBT’s current Twitter and Facebook profiles with a simple, modern and newly designed website. Our second goal is to increase offline engagement between Food for Black Thought and the East Austin community. We will go about this by bolstering efforts to increase event attendance and we hope to connect directly with East Austin residents. We established these goals after conducting secondary and primary research on the organization, its target demographics, and its current public relations efforts . Our primary research was conducted through an initial meeting with the co-founders as well as an interview. Our secondary research included reports found on the East Austin demographic and the lack of access to healthy food. 5
We also conducted an analysis of the prior PR efforts put into place by Food for Black Thought as well as current social media efforts. Through our research, we also realized that the organization lacked consistency in their purpose across all of their current platforms.
B ACK G RO UND FOOD FOR BLACK THOUGHT (FFBT) was born out of the personal experiences of the founders, Dr. Kevin Thomas, an advertising professor in the College of Communication, and Naya Jones, a graduate student at UT Austin. Growing up they had limited access to nutritious food and lacked knowledge of healthy eating. Now, they are both in an academic position that has opened up so many resources and enables them to spread their knowledge. The organization’s focus is on the low-income African American and Hispanic residents of East Austin.
One of the biggest strengths we came across when working with this organization was the personal connection the founders had to the development of Food for Black Thought. The passion and dedication the founders have towards this organization is a driving force that encourages this organization thrive and connect to its audience on a personal level. Taking all of these factors into consideration, the low-budget plan we have created will allow Food for Black Thought to reach the residents of East Austin in order to increase awareness for the organization and create a community conversation about food experiences.
Food for Black Thought is a relatively new organization, which started as a symposium on the UT campus to discuss experiences with food and the food system, past and present, in Austin and beyond. FFBT was established in 2011 and is currently sponsored by the Department of African American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Right now, FFBT is in the process of raising awareness of its organization, mission, food issues and starting conversations about experiences with food. A couple of ways Food for Black Thought tries to educate the community is through conducting survey research and hosting events. Its biggest event is its annual symposium, which is a two-day conference that includes documentary screenings, roundtable discussions, town hall meetings and guest speakers. ` Eventually Food for Black Thought hopes to move from an organization that educates to a nonprofit that inspires action. Some goals for the future are to establish a food collective, hold workshops to teach gardening and to branch out to the greater Austin area.
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S I T U ATION A N A L Y SIS Based on the research conducted, the following are what we identified as the internal and external factors that are favorable or unfavorable to our objectives.
The main element Food for Black Thought could use to its advantage is the fact that it is still such a new organization. It is just starting out and it has so much potential for growth. Right now, its main audience includes the friends of Thomas and Jones within the academic community, but in the long run, FFBT aims to target the East Austin Community and spread throughout the Greater East Austin area. FFBT also eventually hopes to transition from an organization of educating and starting conversations about food issues to an organization that inspires action. FFBT’s opportunities are abundant.
The main characteristic that gives Food for Black Thought an advantage over others is its passionate and dedicated founders, Kevin Thomas and Naya Jones. Food for Black Thought was born out of the personal experiences of Thomas and Jones, so this is a cause close and dear to their hearts and they are therefore completely and utterly dedicated to its mission. Without their determination in pushing this organization, no one would know about the food issues that plague the East Austin Community.
The main issue that could cause trouble for Food for Black Thought is the residents of East Austin resisting change. The East Austin community is mostly inhabited by low-income, minority residents. Junk food is often less expensive than healthy food, and when you are on a tight budget, healthy eating can be challenging. The East Austin residents might not be willing to embrace lifestyles
The main characteristic that places Food for Black Thought at a disadvantage is its lack of a clear and consistent mission statement, goals and objectives. During our research, we realized that Food for Black Thought had different descriptions of its organization spread throughout its social media platforms and therefore we were not sure exactly what Food for Black Thought’s purpose was. Having a clear mission statement is important not only for its audience, but for the organization itself. Mission statements help set the tone for business plans and the organization. They define the path your organization follows and the guiding principle the organization functions.
>> s.w.o.t analysis
STRENGTHS
W E A K N E S S ES
> Passionate, dedicated founders > Specific target market > Support of a large institution
> Partnerships with larger, more established organizations > Access to free/low-cost promotional tactics through UT Austin network > Expansion to Greater Austin area
> Competition for potential funding from other organizations > Resistance from East Austin residents > Continued development of fast food establishments in East Austin
OPPORTUNITIES
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> Small network of volunteers > Lack clear and consistent mission statement > Organization is generally unknown outside of UT network
THREATS
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O UR RESEA RC H
OUR RESE AR C H c o n t ’ d
>> p r im a ry resea rch
> > pr io r P R e ffo r ts
> > m e th o d
IN ORDER TO GAIN a clear understanding of the nonprofit, T.E.A.M. Communications conducted two interviews with Dr. Kevin Thomas and Naya Jones, co-founders of Food for Black Thought. Their hopes are to get the FFBT name out there and raise awareness for the young organization.
- Well-maintained Facebook page - Consistent tweets on @FFBT Twitter account - Online community calendars listing 2012 Symposium: Austintexas.gov, UT College of Liberal Arts, Austin Chronicle Events, KVUE Events - Personal blogs mentioning 2012 FFBT Symposium - Press coverage: - Positive article in the Texas Observer - Article covering 2012 FFBT Symposium in The Austin Times
s ec ond a ry res ea rc h: AB O UT EA S T A U S T I N < < In order to better understand the organization and its purpose, further research was conducted on the lack of health food access in East Austin. Here is what we discovered:
>> There are only three supermarkets in East Austin
>> med ia
T.E.A.M. STARTED WITH A BASIC WEB SEARCH on Food for Black Thought, and we learned that the nonprofit does not yet have its own website which means there is no central destination for information on FFBT.
>> There are 38 convenience stores in East Austin
>> All 38 convenience stores sell alcohol
>> Only 18 of 38 of the convenience stores carry milk
>> Only five of the convenience stores stock the ingredients necessary to make a balanced meal
FFBT currently relies on Facebook to inform its audience about workshops, movie screenings and organizational news. However, the organization’s mission and purpose is unclear on the Facebook page. FFBT updates their Facebook page regularly with news and photos, and they currently have 247 likes. They created a Twitter account two months ago, and they currently have 37 followers. They have only been on Twitter for two months and have 56 tweets, which means they have been tweeting consistently. There is currently an inconsistency in the FFBT message across all social media platforms. Their social media accounts are also not linked to each other and if you go to one social media platform, there is no mention of how to find them on their other social media accounts.
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A “food buying collective” is a central food hub for those in a particular area/group of people to pull/pool their buying power together and buy things in bulk. 10
A U D IENCE curr en t au di e nc e < <
Food for Black Thought began as an on-campus symposium and its current audience is the academic community. Event attendees are typically scholars with s relevant studies to food and culture, who contribute to the discussions on food issue. They are often friends and colleagues of FFBTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s co-founders. Other local nonprofits with similar causes, such as Foodways Texas, are aware of FFBT and its annual symposium.
>> OU R C AMPAI G N AUDIENCE
G OA L S & OBJ E C T IV E S
With this campaign, we hope to extend beyond the academic community and reach the residents of East Austin. Our goals and strategies are centered on forging a relationship with the low-income minorities of East Austin. Food for Black Thought hopes to make a difference in this area where lack of access and understanding of a healthy lifestyle is an ongoing issue. With this target in mind, we hope to bring FFBT from a discussion-based advocacy to an organization that can help enact change in the community.
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GO AL 1: ONLINE TO ES T A BL I S H A D E STIN A TION FO R IN FO RM A T I O N ON FOOD FOR BL AC K T H O UGHT ON L IN E
By integrating FFBT’s current Twitter and Facebook profiles with a simple, modern and newly designed website, we hope to achieve the following objectives:
G O AL 2 : OFFLINE T O INC REASE OF F LINE ENG AG EMENT BET WEEN F OOD F OR BLAC K TH O U G H T AND T HE EAST AUST IN C O MMU NITY
By bolstering efforts to increase event attendance, we hope to connect with an audience of East Austin community members in order to achieve the following objectives:
1. Average 300 hits per week on new website before Dec. 1, 2013
1. Increase overall event attendance by 50 percent before Dec. 1, 2013
2. Boost the number of Twitter followers from 40 to 200 before Dec. 1, 2013
2. Double the frequency of FFBT’s “Annual Symposium”
3. Increase the number of total Facebook “likes” by 50 percent before Dec. 1, 2013
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3. Build partnerships with two local nonprofit organizations with similar goals as FFBT before Dec. 1, 2013
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S T R AT E G I E S > > c rea ti ng a n e w w e bs it e
STRATEGIES, TACTICS, CHANNELS & MESSAGES
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ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES we discovered through initial research of Food for Black Thought was the absence of a single online destination where audience members could learn more about the organization's objectives. While both Twitter and Facebook profiles originally in place seemed to be somewhat effective in conveying information to an external audience, the information lacked consistency between the two platforms. Even through Google search, the social media platforms were difficult to locate - making access to information on Food for Black Thought virtually impossible to an external audience without previous knowledge on the organization. For this reason, we propose the creation of a simple, modern, and new website specifically designated as the “home base” for all of Food for Black Thought’s content. Our hope for this website is that it will contain the following elements:
1. A CALENDAR where audience members can easily access event information.
2. A BLOG where both FFBT insiders and audience members can collaborate to continue “knowledge sharing” on certain topics of interest (building connection between FFBT and East Austin community).
3. A RECIPE FEED, where audience members can share favorite recipes and discuss ideas for fresh, healthy foods (strengthening the shared connection within the East Austin community).
4. A CALL TO ACTION, encouraging people to volunteer with FFBT and make a difference in their communities (building a network of volunteers for FFBT and working to expand to other parts of Austin)
5. A place where people can PURCHASE FFBT MERCHANDISE, including the FFBT grocery tote bag.
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STRA TE GIE S
c o n t’ d
T ACT I CS 1 . FLYE RS
w ill be used to advert ise t he FFBT w ebsi te a n d sp ecial event s. They w il l be placed in bus st ops aroun d A u sti n f o r people to see.
>> buil d ing relati o nshi p s wi th the med i a
An area in which FFBT lacked strength was in the development of relationships with media who could help relay its message. For this reason, we propose that the organization focus on developing strategic relationships with journalists and bloggers interested in helping it relay its message to larger pubics. Our hope for developing these relationships is that they will aid in the development of: 1. GREATER COMMON KNOWLEDGE AMONG TARGET AUDIENCE through promotion of events in neighborhood newsletters, local African-American and Hispanic-targeted newspapers, and nonprofit bloggers. Large publications like The Austin American Statesman are feasible targets for large events like the FFBT Annual Symposium.
2. GREATER COMMON KNOWLEDGE AMONG OTHER NONPROFITS WITH SIMILAR GOALS to build a support system for the new organization. Partnerships with more established nonprofits will help FFBT not only build up their audience base, but also have greater means to fund and host larger, more frequent events.
3. GREATER OPPORTUNITY TO GENERATE FUNDING FROM SPONSORS through more frequent media exposure. If more people know about FFBT and its mission, the organization is more likely to recieve sponsorship or donation from people who support its cause.
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2. P RO MO TIO NA L V IDE O C A MPAI GN
w i l l b e created to elaborate on the different aspects of FFBT. T h es e v i d eo s w i l l b e p o sted on the FFBT website, social media sites, a n d a l s o i n th e m ed i a k i t.
3. P RE SS RE LE A SE S
will be created to build pu b l i ci ty a b o u t FFBT events. Events include movie screenings, lecture s er i e s , a n d a symposium. Press releases will target local jour nalists a n d b l o g ge rs .
4. ME DIA K ITS
will be created to send to l o ca l m ed i a a s wel l a s other local nonprofits that have similar miss i o n s a s F F BT. I t w i l l b e used to build partnerships between FFBT an d o th e r o rga n i zati o n s .
5. FFB T GRO C E RY TO TE B A GS
will be manu fa ctu re d to build buzz and awareness about FFBT. The community w i l l b e a b l e to purchase these bags for a small fee from the organizati o n ’s we bs i te.
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CHANNELS & MESSAGES THE CHANNELS that will be used for the stated goals and objectives will be social media sites and local media. Social media sites will be used to distribute the promotional video campaigns as well as messages and information about Food for Black Thought. Local media will be used to distribute the press kit we will put together which will include the promotional videos as well as press releases tailored to specific events Food for Black Thought will host.
SPECIFIC MEDIA TARGETS: >> KVUE >> The Austin-American Statesman >> Soulciti.com (geared toward African-Americans) >> El Mundo (geared toward the hispanic community)
L OGIST I CS
>> MESSAGES 1. Food for Black Thought aims to promote KNOWLEDGE SHARING 2. Food for Black Thought supports COMMUNITY EDUCATION 3. Food for Black Thought believes health should be CELEBRATED 19
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C A L E NDAR 5
>> 2013
APRIL all month > website design MAY 5/1 > print FFBT grocery tote bags
> distribute flyers for monthly events > schedule Facebook posts/tweets > launch new website 5/5 > PVC Debut 1: “About FFBT” 5/10 > blog post 1
JUNE 6/1 > distribute flyers for monthly events > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 6/10 > blog post 2
JULY
7/1
> distribute flyers for monthly events > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 7/5 > PVC Debut 2: “Summertime health” 7/10 > blog post 3
AUGUST
8/1 > distribute flyers for monthly events > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 8/10 > blog post 4 8/20 > begin publicizing symposium event 8/30 > pitch symposium to news media 21
C ALE NDAR
cont’d
SEPTEMBER
9/1 > distribute flyers for symposium > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 9/5 > PVC Debut 3: “FFBT Back to School” 9/10 > blog post 5
OCTOBER
10/1
> distribute flyers for symposium > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 10/10 > blog post 6
NOVEMBER
11/1 > distribute flyers for symposium > schedule Facebook posts/tweets 11/5 > PVC Debut 4: “FFBT Holidays” 11/10 > blog post 7
DECEMBER
12/1
> THE CAMPAIGN WILL END ON DEC. 1, 2013 TO ALLOW TIME FOR MEASUREMENT AND EVALUA TION BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF 2014. 22
O U R F I N AL E VALUA TIO N
B U D G ET
T.E.A.M. Communications hopes to bring Food for Black Thought to the next level by increasing awareness beyond the academic community into the East Austin community. In order to determine increased awareness, we will monitor online and offline engagement. We will measure the effectiveness of our online plan using Google Analytics, Facebook metrics and YouTube data. We will report FFBTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website traffic, including the number of website hits and unique visitors. We will also track the number of new Twitter followers, Facebook Likes, Facebook invites, content sharing and video views. Event attendance will be the primary measure of increased offline engagement, especially when comparing the attendance at the 2012 and 2013 symposiums. Surveys will also be distributed after each event to determine how attendees heard about the event, which platforms they prefer to access FFBT information, and if they would recommend a FFBT event to friends.
MEDIA PITCH.....................................................$0 MEDIA KIT..........................................................$0 WEBSITE DESIGN..............................................$0 11 X 17 POSTERS..................................................$17.74 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 FLYERS...........................................$60.05 GROCERY TOTE BAGS.......................................$250.00
We are certain that we can measure the impact of our strategies and tactics in order to determine their effectiveness and adjust them accordingly. We plan to continuously monitor this information, and have set aside the month of December in order to complete a holistic evaluation of our public relations plan.
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APPENDIX
mock flyer
APP ENDIX
annual symposium join us for a discussion on health in our community
Oct. 1 - Oct. 3 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. visit www.FFBTatx.org for more information 25
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APPENDIX CONT’D
APPENDIX CONT’D
promotional video campaign example
mock press release
PCV Debut 1: “About FFBT”
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APPENDIX CONT’D mock pitch lettter
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