Objective:

To track 15 acts of involvement from 15 different alumni of the

Department of Communication, whether it be attendance at events or active
involvement on the Web, by September 1, 2016.

RACE

Research: Our group researched a range of small to large Midwest colleges and
universities with competitive communication programs. From there we focused
on their alumni program. With our research, we found that there are few schools
in our region that have defined an active alumni relations programs. Although it
may not be advertised as publically, it seems the research we conducted was
helpful in knowing who has certain types of connection.
Analysis: When developing our campaign, we found our publics to be alumni of
the Department of Communication, current students and faculty, as well as any
guests attending the Commies. We found many strengths and opportunities and
although there were a good amount of weaknesses and threats, we felt as though
the positives outweighed the negatives. The pre and post survey we created was
distributed to alumni and will be evaluated at the end of our campaign. The
tactics we created, print and online, allowed for an equal balance in reaching
different age demographics as well as highlighted specific features for the
Department of Communication. Finally, the Commies was a success and in holding
up our end of responsibility, we were successful. The flyer, save the date and
program were all uniform and our audience enjoyed the design.

Communication: In order to track the alumni involvement, we have implemented

a before and after campaign survey that will be sent to alumni. Furthermore, we
decided it would be most beneficial to create both traditional and online tactics to
help meet the needs of our client. We created flyers for the Commies to be sent
via an email blast and hung around campus, a Save the Date, Hootsuite how-to
guide, for ease in posting to social media, a blog plan for alumni to share their
experiences with other alumni, faculty and current students, an alumni newsletter
to feature a new alum monthly and to update alumni on what is happening in the
department, radio spots that encourage alumni to come back to campus, a
postcard as a friendly reminder that we are wishing them well, and an alumni
spotlight and feature to learn more about their career, their aspirations and goals
and their favorite memories while on campus.
Evaluation: As mentioned, the survey distributed at the beginning of the
semester will also be sent out at the end of our campaign to measure the acts of
involvement from alumni. The goal is to evaluate how connected and engaged
they became with the department, current students, other alumni and faculty
members.