Sessions about Marketing

At last a SUPPORTED nationwide Extension marketing effort is on the horizon! A task force convened by the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy, at the request of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, has been charged with exploring a national marketing plan for Extension. The multi-year process will be research-based and it is hoped the outcome will provide materials and a unified message help ACE members tell the Extension story to our various stakeholder groups from Congress to University Presidents to local funders to our clients. Several ACE members are participating on the task force and will provide an update and listening opportunity at the approximately 6-month mark in the process.

Starting with a clear definition of branding, we’ll move through a tried-and-true process that will lead you to a brand that resonates and ultimately delivers an enhanced reputation and image for your organization. Join us for a rousing game of “Brandoo.” We’ll then show you how to work with internal and external stakeholders in a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis to define your organization’s market niche. We’ll show how to develop information so that you can accurately express your brand through communications pieces. We’ll talk about brand attributes, brand personalities, tone of voice and overarching goals. We’ll show how to funnel all of this information into a statement that defines the goals of your communications efforts for primary audiences. The information will crystallize in a look at brand standards manuals that now guide communications for Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and academic programs in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Finally, we’ll show examples of how these brand standards are applied through key communications pieces.

The new UF/IFAS Extension Web site, SolutionsForYourLife.com, was three years in the making and launched May 16, 2006. To publicize it, our team created a publicity campaign from inception to realization, including a brochure with four different covers; posters; billboards; bookmarks; a banner stand; a news release; and a news article in the UF/IFAS monthly magazine, Impact. The concept we developed for the campaign was “real answers for real life.” This publicity campaign was meant to reach not just traditional users of UF/IFAS—including livestock and crop producers, 4-H professionals and participants, horticulture professionals, and policy makers—but also new users. Our audience was defined by administrators as “everyone in the state.” The campaign’s goal was to get people to go to the portal Web site, SolutionsForYourLife.com, from where they are led to specific information on other UF/IFAS Extension sites about such topics as gardening, money management, and crop production. This session will explain the creation and design of a new Extension brand and its internal and external dissemination, as well as the specific logistics of assembling a statewide publicity campaign.

Money and time for programs and projects are seemingly disappearing right before our eyes. As a result, the available resources must be used to their fullest potential. But, how do we know if this is happening? Evaluation can serve many purposes in assessing the return on investment made in programming or other unit efforts. This session will address two principle elements of evaluation. The first is determining what needs to be evaluated. Developing the evaluation question is an integral part of a useful evaluation. After all, good wine can not be made with bad grapes. The second principle is how evaluation “fits in” with the program or project. Evaluation often is an afterthought when it should be an element of the planning process. Attending this session will provide a basis for embarking on your own evaluation expedition, in search of answers to the once ambiguous questions of “was this worth the money?” and “why did this take so much time?”

Event-in-a-Box is making it easier for K-State Research and Extension professionals to plan, manage -- and market -- programs and events throughout the state. With ideas and tips, interactive event planning and evaluation forms, and templates for signs, guest book pages, etc., the project is getting favorable reviews from new agents as well as experienced professionals. To quote one longtime (40+ years) agent: “This is the best...” The organizational communications kit, which was introduced at K-State Research and Extension’s Annual Conference in Sept. 2006, should save time and money, yet also support consistent marketing strategies to fulfill the land-grant mission. Session presented by Nancy Peterson and Gloria Holcombe, project coordinators; and Amy Hartman, with technical tips.

A panel of communications professionals—both faculty and staff—from several different universities will discuss ways of getting buy-in from, providing professional development opportunities for, and serving as a resource for faculty in communications efforts. The discussion will include research results that indicate faculty communications training needs, practical strategies, pitfalls, strategies, experiences, ideas, and other related topics.

Do you want to conduct a focus group, but you are unsure how to get started or what will be involved? This session will discuss the basics of planning, organizing, and conducting focus groups to gain feedback about marketing materials and campaigns. Video examples will be presented to illustrate focus group moderation and interaction. Presenters will answer audience questions and provide personal insight into this effective marketing research method.

Digital cameras make it easier than ever to snap pictures, but that's no guarantee they'll be useable. This session helps non-photographers get familiar with digital camera capabilities, offers easy-to-remember photo composition tips, shows ways to rescue photos through editing software and takes some of the mystery out of pixels and dots per inch for print or online use. Lots of examples will help illustrate the do's and don'ts of photo-taking. Presented by a non-photographer who often needs to churn out a decent picture, this session has been requested numerous times in the presenter’s home state and is always well attended. Bring your digital camera for some hands-on practice.

The Gardening in a Minute radio program was developed through University of Florida Extension to reach out to the gardening community in an innovative, edutainment format. Gardening is the number one leisure activity in the U.S. and research shows that gardeners seek information. Edutainment utilizes a variety of media to incorporate educational messages within an entertaining format. In a short, fun format, Gardening in a Minute shows educate listeners through a variety of seasonally appropriate issues related to water, plants, pests, and wildlife; each show explores a different home gardening or lawn care topic. Along with the radio program, an integrated marketing communication approach was implemented to reach a broader audience. An interactive Web site allows program listeners and other site visitors to have hands-on learning experiences. Gardening in a Minute is currently being broadcast in 19 counties in Florida with plans to syndicate throughout Florida by 2008. More than 15,000 people listen to each broadcast. The interactive format of the program and the collaboration with county faculty has made the program very visible within internal and external audiences.

To start-up or get funding for any communication or distance education project, Rule #1 is “Know Your Audience.” This workshop will take participants through a basic hands-on process for identifying issues and audiences. It will start with basic steps and end up with a fully developed potential impact statement that will guide on-going evaluation of their efforts. Each participant should bring with them or be able to characterize a specific start-up project. At the end of the 2-hours session you will have a set of tools for audience analysis and specific information that will improve the competitiveness of your individual projects.

In 2005, the University of Arkansas CES transferred responsibility for its Web site from the Information Technology department to the Communications department. After the transfer, the Communications department revamped the Web site twice. After the second redesign, the Vice President for Agriculture for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture was so impressed with the new look that he asked the Communications department to redesign the Web site for the entire Division of Agriculture so that each page for the Division would have a cohesive look. After all the redesigns, numbers on Web hits were run in October 2006, and the UACES Web site saw a 2000 percent- yes, 2000 percent- increase in its Web hits in just one year. UACES maintains its Web site, and tracks all of its hits, without content management software. This session will provide attendees with a case study in increasing Web hits from beginning to end.

Have Aliens Pay You to Do Your Job! -- The Program Sponsorship Model. Getting a Program Sponsor is a way to have others (aliens) pay you or your program team to do part of your job! Your sponsor may provide: o Local presence for promotion, advertising & partnership o Help find the participants o Meeting arrangements o Collection of the money o Registration/enrollment of the participants o Payment for direct program costs of travel, printing and the presenter o Assumption of the financial risk of a low turn out o Motivation for the presenters by raising expectations to deliver a HIGH QUALITY program! So these are good reason to get a sponsor but we’ll focus on the steps it takes to get a sponsor, make that sponsor successful, and keep your program successful. We’ll discuss: Do you look for a sponsor first? Prospecting for sponsors: What sponsors want? Closing the sale: What can you do to help your sponsors be successful? And provide a Program Sponsorship Worksheet. So if you see Aliens put them to good use!

Google recently purchased YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars, not because it’s a site where lots of videos are stored (Google already has Google Video), but because of the community surrounding the videos stored there. Entertaining videos spread not because a large organization decides to promote and market them but because people tell other people about them, videos are rated and highlighted and even more people discover them. Social networking—YouTube, MySpace, LiveJournal, Flickr, weblogs, Digg, del.icio.us—is one of the killer apps of the new millennium and it can be a way to reach non-traditional audiences. Key issues for discussion are what are these applications, how do they work, how do we become comfortable with these emergent technologies and their potential for viral marketing when we not only don’t control them, but can’t control them if we want them to work.

Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to learn about the behaviors and preferences of your Web visitors. Mike Atwell will guide you through setting up an account to installation and finally monitoring and interpreting the results. Pros and cons of the service will be discussed along with legal considerations.

Are News and Marketing mutally exclusive? While we all talk about "integrated marketing," how does it really manifest itself in terms of the traditional news operation? How can news and marketing best and strategically co-exist?

The Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University is conducting the Study of Positive Youth Development to look at how positive influences in the lives of youth help protect them from getting involved in "problem behaviors". Five years into this 6-year longitudinal research involving 4,000 diverse adolescents from across the country, indicators for youth success are emerging. Data is showing that one of the most significant factors helping youth move effectively through adolescence is involvement in a quality youth development program such as 4-H. This is good news for agriculture and university communicators, as it provides research to support the value of this USDA- and university extension-operated youth development program. In this session, representatives from National 4-H Council and Vanguard Communications will share highlights from the Tufts study and show you the communications tools available to help you use the data to promote your university’s Extension 4-H program.

Learn how to help your Extension and Research faculty reach their audiences through marketing plans that are goal-oriented and audience specific. Bring your vexing marketing challenges to this session, and we’ll discuss how to attack and bring home a victory. We’ll walk through the discovery process with clients as you laser in on key goals and audiences through questions and research. We’ll discuss how to mine your communications toolbox and move beyond the obvious to provide innovative solutions for your customers. We’ll share the elements of a marketing plan and provide real-life examples.

In this session, two communications professionals from the Los Alamos National Laboratory will teach their approaches in training scientists and other spokespersons to talk with the media. In the first part of the session, they will share examples of how LANL spokespersons have talked publicly about highly-sensitive topics. Latter parts of the session will focus on training landgrant communicators to train scientists and others on their campus to be effective public spokespersons. Includes hands-on training and group presentations.

Target Your Market – Save the World. Are you wrestling with financial sustainability? At the same time being held accountable for educational impact? You need good customers! Customers who want, need, or value what you have to offer; will pay what you have to charge; will recommend you to others; will tell you how to improve; will create program impact by using program content, information, and education; and will give you repeat sales. How do you get good customers – Target Your Market – Save the World! Target marketing is a strategic, tactical, cost-effective approach to getting and keeping good customers. Get an alien-proof plan to rocket educational impacts to the moon while improving the program’s financial sustainability. We have successful examples broken down into a step by step approach to fit your situation. Getting and keeping good customers can save the world!

During 2006, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Communications expanded our role in supporting our college’s recruitment efforts. In the face of declining enrollment and shrinking degree offerings, an energetic new dean gave refreshed purpose and creative freedom in the recruitment of freshman and transfer students. A writer, marketer, graphic designer and college recruiter met to outline a plan for the development and mass distribution of new, catchy materials to target audiences. We are gaining students, and interest in the college among middle and high school students is increasing. Thanks to a directed effort to tell our story around the entire state, we are rapidly changing students’ opinions of the college. Walk away armed with a plan of action to target your key audiences, prioritize your production of printed and electronic materials and find new ways to spark interest in your programs.

Treasures in your attic? Hidden treasures are often found in the most unlikely places—and they can sometimes lead to amazing results. In 2006, Alabama Extension communicators parlayed the rediscovery of a historically significant set of New Deal era murals and the celebration of Auburn University’s sesquicentennial into a unique project that both created a touch point to our past and highlighted our present mission. We pulled the 10-painting set of murals from their dusty confines, conducted investigative research into their past, and planned events and created products to showcase and promote them. In doing so, we learned much about our organization; the life and times of the artist, John Augustus Walker of Mobile; and the significance of a fascinating project in our country’s history—the WPA Artist Project, which provided employment to artists and beauty that graced institutions and public places. Our project’s many components—news articles, lectures, posters, note cards, and exhibits—drew significant attention not only to the artwork but to Extension itself. Look around and see what hidden treasures could draw attention to your organization in fresh, unexpected ways.

We recently developed an integrated marketing communication (IMC) approach for the new UF/IFAS Extension NPR radio program, Gardening in a Minute, in order to reach a broader audience with sustainable landscape management information. Associated marketing materials include the Web site, a poster, a Web card, a seed packet, fact sheets, a press release, a display banner, and shirts. This session will explore, in panel format, how we used the already-extant Solutions for Your Life Extension Web site and marketing materials to create a brand extension to help further the UF/IFAS branding effort. Our panel will give an overview of IMCs, as well as an explanation of SolutionsForYourLife.com research, and how both were applied to the Gardening in a Minute effort.

In this session, learn to increase the power of your web sites and engage your most important audiences. We’ll review national sites, from YouTube and Wikipedia to Target and Coca-Cola. We’ll ask audience members to bring examples of successful and less-than-successful sites. After discussing what works and doesn’t, we’ll walk through a strategic process, starting with research and the discovery process, when goals and audiences are fully defined. It continues with a brand personality and promise definition. During the storyboarding examples, we’ll show the six questions that should be asked for each page of your site, and how to create an outline and detailed sitemap that gives your developers the information they need. We’ll also show how to connect your customer’s goals with technologies – when are blogs appropriate? How can you enhance your site with videos, sound or slideshows in a way that is goal oriented? How do you avoid falling for the latest bells and whistles and remain goal oriented? Finally, we’ll show examples of the process, from initial proposal forms, storyboards, and graphic design standards, to actual sites developed through this process.

Extension news comes into the eXtension Virtual News Room via RSS feeds and atom feeds. Which land-grant universities have news coming in by feeds? What land-grant universities have had news releases posted on the eXtension news site? eXtension metrics will answer these questions and more.

This two-hour workshop focuses on Washington State University Extension’s work with a professional consultant to build a new image, brand identity and marketing plan. It will feature discussion of how the decisions were made to launch a marketing effort and to use a professional marketing consultant to lead that effort as well as the pros and cons of those decisions. It will give attendees a look at “what you get” when you work with a professional consultant – input, processes and final products as well as a candid assessment of the challenges WSU had to deal with in using a professional consultant for their marketing/branding effort.