Executive Summary

THE PROBLEM

The UGA Interdisciplinary Field Program is an eight-week trip beginning in June that sends students traveling throughout the American West earning up to 15 credit hours. Established in 1988, the program was originally open to all honors students and has since opened to any student at UGA, and even at other universities. However, in recent years, the IFP has had difficulties getting students to sign up for the program. Competition from other, more glamorous study abroad programs, as well as low awareness of the program have the IFP and its student enrollment.

THE STRATEGY

We began by rebranding the IFP and creating specific guidelines including which colors, fonts and layouts to use for materials promoting the IFP. After several iterations we designed a logo that fit the client’s needs and the new brand guidelines. Their social media presence was also lackluster, so we worked with the IFP team to make guidelines for Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posts. Our most ambitious project was to help the IFP make new materials for the Tate Art Wall that gave an overview of the program. They were up on display for two weeks, and can be reused for the next few years.

THE IMPACT

The IFP received a total of 42 applications by the March 4 deadline, with 23 fully completed, meeting the goal of 18 applications and exceeding it with a waiting list of five students. The UGA IFP Facebook page went from 111 like to 289 likes (160% increase), and Instagram followers increased by 75% over the course of our campaign. The average attendance of information sessions also increased from 3–7 attendees to 7–15 attendees (~218% increase), and interactions such as students signing up for mailing lists at those sessions increased as well. Overall, we met the IFP’s goals of extending their presence to students and exceeded those goals in some instances, such as students registering for the program.