Running head: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON

The Grandman: A PR Campaign for Baykeepers Annual Triathlon

Thomas Joseph Schmalz

Spring Hill College

THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 2

Abstract

The Mobile Baykeeper, formed in 1997, is a nonprofit organization that works to protect

the beauty, health, and heritage of the Mobile Bay Watershed. On June 3, 2017, the Baykeeper

will host the Grandman Triathlon, their largest annual fundraiser. Early registration is open to

participants looking to save money on triathlon fees and gain an edge on the competition. Three

goals were set for the campaign; increase early signups by twenty percent, increase early signups

for team racing from three teams in 2016 to six in 2017, and spread awareness of the Baykeeper.

A public relations campaign was launched in order to raise awareness for the Baykeepers

various campaigns and increase early signups for the triathlon. This campaign utilized social

media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to deliver informative messages and

creative content. Both the central and peripheral routes of thinking were used to create

informational and promotional postings to social media. Social media analytics were run in order

to see how posts surfaced online. To determine if my target audience was influenced to sign up

based on the postings, an online survey was distributed through convenience sampling posted on

Facebook. On the closure of early registration, April 1, 2017, 303 people signed up for the

Grandman Triathlon.
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Introduction

The Mobile Bay Watershed surrounds 65% of the land area for the state of Alabama and

includes portions of Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. The Mobile Bay Watershed is a final

destination point for the Tombigbee, Alabama, Mobile, Middle, Tensaw, Apalachee, Raft,

Spanish, and Blakeley Rivers (Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2007, para. 5). Before these rivers

dump into the bay, they pass through a wet region called the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. The Mobile-

Tensaw Delta is considered a national natural landmark and is home to the most diverse wildlife

in the United States.

The staff, board of directors, advisors, partners, and volunteers for the Baykeeper work

together to find solutions to issues concerning the bay, form partnerships with organizations, and

educate the public on problems that affect the quality of their water, air, and health. The

Baykeeper runs various campaigns year-round that reduce the buildup of mud from storm water

in surrounding creeks, bays, and rivers. Other projects include work on infrastructure issues like

sewer spills that affect the bay, and research on coal ash issues that are hurting the Mobile River.

On June 3, 2017, the Baykeeper will hold the Publix Grandman Triathlon, their largest

fundraiser of the year. Racers jump off the Fairhope Pier into the Mobile Bay to start the race.

Next, they swim to shore and bike through Fairhope. The race concludes with a 3.1 mile run

along Mobile Bay. Early registration is offered for racers looking to save money, recruit a team,

and gain an edge on the competition. Early registration opened in January and closed April 1,

2017.

Project Description

My senior seminar capstone consisted of a large scale public relations and informational

campaign that was aimed at increasing early signup participation for teams and first time racers
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and spread awareness of the strategic campaigns put on by the organization. A major component

of the campaign utilized social media as a way to promote the Grandman Triathlon and the

Mobile Baykeeper. Through the social media campaign, messages and media content were

posted in an attempt to leave lasting impressions in the minds of my target audience.

Rationale

According to Baykeepers educational and outreach coordinator Jamie Bullock, over the

past few years, the Baykeeper has had problems with early signups for the triathlon (J. Bullock,

personal communication, January 2017). Problems included participants signing up late or

participants signing up but failing to show up to the event. Participants can sign up early on

www.mobilebaykeeper.org until April 1st. Members who sign up for the race have the option of

running with teams that consist of three members, but team signups are generally low because

this option is not well promoted. Members of the Baykeeper believe that team racing has

potential with better promotional strategies and initiatives. According to the Baykeepers social

media director Hanlon Walsh, running a marathon is not an easy task, so finding and creating

ways to motivate people to sign up early is hard (H. Walsh, personal communication, January

2017). Bullock added that many who run in the race are unaware of the Baykeepers mission,

purpose, and work. Since the Baykeeper has not utilized all social media platforms effectively in

the past, their campaigns messages tended to be broad and inconsistent. In order to run a

successful social media campaign, Dr. Robert Cialdini, professor of marketing at Arizona State

University, says consistency becomes a powerful motive because it is valued and adaptive

(Wood, 2000, p. 449). Hanlon emphasized that postings needed to be consistent for this years

campaign.

Goals and Objectives

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There were three primary goals set for the campaign. The first goal of my campaign was

to increase early signup participation by 20%. After initially setting the goal to increase early

sign-ups by 30%, I was advised that my goal may be unattainable. In 2015, 456 people signed up

before early registration closed on April 15th. Last year, 323 people signed up early before the

closing of registration on April 15th, meaning that there was a 29% decrease from 2015 to 2016.

After meeting with Bullock and Walsh, we decided that 20% would be a more realistic and

achievable goal. To successfully accomplish this goal, I created objectives that gave me insight

into what motivates people to run different types of races. According to researchers, the most

common reason for participating in endurance or aerobic exercise it to obtain health and fitness

benefits (Masters, Et al, 1993, p. 134). I referenced professors Kevin Masters, Benjamin Ogles,

and Jeffrey Joltons Motivations of Marathoners Scales (MOMS) to create posts in my campaign

that helped motivate my target to sign up for the triathlon. MOMS was designed, based on

research literature, to comprehensively assess reasons for marathon running (Masters, Et al,

1995, p. 1).

The second goal was to increase early sign-ups for team racing from three teams in 2016,

to six teams in 2017. Members are able to put together a three-person team for the triathlon.

Since a triathlon consists of swimming, biking, and running, each team member only covers one

of those stages. This is beneficial because less-able athletes who cannot complete all parts of a

triathlon can still participate which increases the pool of participants. In addition, friends can

compete together which creates a social atmosphere that encourages involvement.

My third goal was to develop a system of messages and content that inspired my target

audience to become more connected to the programs, campaigns, and approach of the Mobile

Baykeeper. The goal was to spread awareness of the specific types of work that the Mobile
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 6

Baykeeper engages in so that participants will be well informed of the cause they are supporting

by participating in the triathlon.

Theoretical Framework

Uncovering the reasons why people run in marathons helped guide the success of my

campaign. Social psychologist Wendy Wood argue that the primary process in influence is not

change in attitude toward an object but rather change in the definition and meaning of the object

(Wood, 2000, p. 550). When meaning changes, attitudes of people change accordingly (Wood,

2000, p. 550). Understanding different posts meanings and concepts is vital to running a

successful social media campaign.

Researchers John Cacioppo and Richard Petty state that the elaboration likelihood model

was formulated as a theory about how the classic source, message, recipient, and contextual

variables have an impact on attitudes toward various objects, issues, and people (Chaiken &

Trope, 1999, p. 42). Cacioppo and Petty found the ELM to be a dual-route but multiprocess

theory (Chaiken & Trope, 1999, p. 42). There are two mental routes to attitude change that are

used, the central and peripheral. The central route requires message elaboration. Elaboration is

the extent to which a person carefully thinks about issue relevant arguments contained in a

persuasive communication (Griffin, Et al, 2015, p. 206). While processing new information

logically, people using the central route carefully scrutinize the ideas, try to figure out if they

have true merit, and mull over their implications (Griffin, Et al, 2015, p. 206). The peripheral

route, on the other hand, provides a mental shortcut pathway for either accepting or rejecting a

message with any active thinking about the attributes of the issues or the object of

consideration (Griffin, Et al, 2015, p. 206). Recipients rely on different cues instead of engaging

in complex cognitive activity to make quick decisions under the peripheral route.
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To accomplish my goals of raising awareness of the Baykeepers mission and campaigns

and persuading more people to sign up for the triathlon, I applied both the central and peripheral

routes of persuasion. I used the central route to raise awareness about the Baykeeper because I

created posts that required my audience to use cognitive skills for understanding the messages

meanings (appendix A, B, C). I created posts that explained factual information on the

Baykeepers activities and purpose, requiring the audience to think more deeply about the

information presented. I used the peripheral route to immediately capture the attention of my

audience and persuade them to sign up early. The peripheral route entails persuasion by

attractiveness and popularity instead of facts (BusinessTopia, 2017, par. 7). Many of the videos

and visuals caused my audience to think quickly about the meaning of the message without

deeper cognitive thinking.

Target Audience

The primary target audience of this campaign included residents in Baton Rouge, New

Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, Perdido Key, Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Baldwin

County between the ages of 19-30. The geographical aspect of my target was determined based

on the proximity to the racecourse. People who live across the country are less likely to

participate because they are not directly affected by the Watershed, are unfamiliar with the event,

and are less likely to view the campaigns messages.

Even though people of all ages are allowed to participate in the triathlon, I chose to target

19-30 year olds because of the central role that social media played in my campaign. According

to researchers, over the last few years social media usage has shown exponential growth and it

is estimated that 1.43 billion people around the globe are using social media (Walsh, Et al,
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2013, p. 217). As of November 6, 2016, 86% of ages 18-29 are interactive on social media every

day (Pew research center, 2017).

In addition to consumption of social media, I also considered health and exercise habits

when determining my target age group. Since a triathlon consists of swimming, biking, and

running, and 56.2% of ages 18-29 exercise regularly (Healthways, 2011), I believed I would

primarily attract participants from this age group.

Strategies and Tactics

I used social media platforms such as Facebook

(https://www.facebook.com/grandmantriathlon/), Instagram

(https://www.instagram.com/grandmantriathlon/?hl=en), and Twitter

(https://twitter.com/GrandmanTri?lang=en) to posts messages and content for the campaign. I

chose social media as the best strategy for promotion because I had the ability to promote

directly to my target audience. According to researchers, the second generation of internet based

applications in which users control communication holds promise to significantly enhance

promotional efforts within social marketing campaigns (Thackeray, Et al, 2008, p. 340).

Researchers claim that applications of web 2.0 can directly engage consumers in the creative

process by both producing and distributing information through collaborative writing, content

sharing, social networking, social bookmarking, and syndication (Thackeray, Et al, 2008, p.

340). The target audience is always at the heart of the social marketing process and web 2.0

social media allows them to be at the heart of a very specific aspect- the promotional strategy

(Thackeray, Et al, 2008, p. 340). Since the target audience played such a pivotal role in the

promotional strategy, I reasoned that the campaign could influence and change the attitudes of

my target audience.
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MOMS was essential in creating messages and content that was posted to Facebook,

Instagram, and Twitter. By utilizing MOMS, four general reasons for running were identified:

psychological, physical, social, and achievement (Masters, Et al, 1993, p. 135). I used MOMS

to design posts intended to motivate my target by pointing out the benefits of participating in

triathlons.

At first, Hanlon, Jamie, and I decided that three short promotional videos would be

effective for the campaign (appendix D, E, F). After I realized how effective these videos were

on social media, and in light of complications with the flyers I intended to use, I decided to

create three more short promotional videos (appendix G, H, I). In addition to the videos, I created

three flyers for the triathlon. I used print media to leave a lasting impression in the eyes of my

target audience.

Methods and Tools

Social media played a major role in the promotional mix of running the campaign.

Marketing professors Glynn Mangold and David Faulds state that social media describes a

variety of new sources of online information that are created, initiated, circulated and used by

consumers intent on educating each other about product, brands, services, personalities, and

issues (Mangold & Faulds, 2009, p. 357). Without social media, I would not have been able to

disseminate my messages and content to my target audience.

Different tools that I utilized throughout the campaign included Adobe Premiers

InDesign, Photoshop, and After Effects programs. I used my graphic design skills that I acquired

in Rachel Hatleys graphic design class to create three 8 by 11 inch flyers (appendix J, K, L). I

used semiotics while developing these promotional messages on the flyers because they forced

people to visualize, make meaning, and become influenced in ways that were not strictly text
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dependent. These flyers depicted the stages of a triathlon, the Grandman logo, and the beauty of

Fairhope. The flyers were to be posted via social media and physically handed out at upcoming

races and triathlons around the Gulf Coast. Due to issues explained later, the flyers were not a

part of the final campaign.

I used videography and photography skills that I developed in Ryan Nobles media lab

class to take pictures and footage of the races venue and interview footage of previous racers for

the promotional videos (appendix D, E, F). I used my Nikon D3200 camera that I received in

Ryan Nobles class as a tool for capturing my footage. iMovie was another tool I used to create

and edit video footage for all of the videos I developed. Adobe After Effects served as a useful

tool for developing aspects of my videos as well.

The Campaign

Hanlon, Jamie, and Justine Herlihy decided to grant me administrator rights to the

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts for the Grandman at a meeting in early January.

Hanlon and Justine later decided that I would not be able to have access to the social media

accounts in an email sent on February 20th (appendix M). They both suggested I come to the

Baykeeper regularly to schedule posts. Instead of going to the Baykeeper, I developed weekly

social media schedules through Microsoft Word that identified the social media platforms I

wanted to use for specific posts, the message in the posts, and the scheduled date for the postings

(appendix N, O, P, Q, R). The schedules were sent out on Sunday to give Hanlon enough time to

review the schedule and post the content.

Since this was a social media campaign, there was no budget required. There were two

methods of communication used in the campaign. The first was to promote aspects of the

Grandman Triathlon in order to increase early signups. The second part was to inform my
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audience about how important the Baykeepers activities and missions are to the community. The

social media campaign was originally set to start on February 22, 2017 and end on March 31,

2017. Instead, the campaign started on March 2, 2017 and ended on April 2, 2017.

There were a total of eighteen posts that I developed that were posted on Facebook,

Instagram, and Twitter. According to Jamie, many people who run in the triathlon have no idea

what they Baykeeper is (Bullock, personal communication, January 2017). Out of the five

scheduled informational posts, only three were actually posted. I created one post a week to

inform my target about the activities and campaigns put on by the Baykeeper. Since informing

people about the Baykeepers activities and purpose was one of the goals of my project, and only

three were posted, it is probable that my target audience did not become as informed as I

intended. My main goal for creating these informational posts was to enlighten my target on the

crucial role that the Baykeeper has in protecting the Mobile Bay Watershed. My main purpose of

creating these informational posts was to cause my target audience to understand how the bay

affects them directly and how the Baykeepers campaigns are important to the environment.

These posts focused on encouraging participants to go outside, inspiring them to enjoy the

natural resources they have in the community, and highlighting the benefits the triathlon has for

the Baykeepers environmental initiatives. These informational posts were created in order for

my target audience to use the central route of thinking. The first informational post which was

posted to Facebook and Twitter explained how the Mobile Bay Watershed encompasses two

thirds of the state. (appendix A). This post allowed participants of the Grandman to understand

how important clean bay water is and how the Baykeepers campaigns have a direct link to the

Grandman participants health and safety. This was also posted because one of the Baykeepers

major goals is to facilitate improved operations and oversight of wastewater and treatment
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facilities (Mobile Baykeeper, 2015). The second informational post on Facebook explained the

Baykeepers sewage spillage campaign and how it works to keep the bay safe for the triathlon

(appendix B). The last informational post on Instagram ensured that my target audience

understood that the triathlon would not be possible without the work of the Mobile Baykeeper

(appendix C).

The second aspect of my social media campaign involved promoting the Grandman

Triathlon. There were a total of nine promotional postings that included both messages and

media content. My main goal for posting promotional content through videos and pictures was to

allow my target to better understand aspects of the triathlon including the location of the venue,

motivation for participating, and reasons to sign up early through visual communication.

According to Paul Lester, the most powerful, meaningful, and culturally important messages are

those that combine words and pictures equally and respectfully (Lester, 2012, p. xi). Since 65

percent of people are visual learners (Kissmetric, 2015), I decided to focus heavily on visual cues

to promote the triathlon effectively. I posted a picture of the Fairhope Pier to Facebook,

Instagram, and Twitter (appendix S) in order to persuade my audience to participate by

highlighting the beauty of the triathlons venue. This post included the deadline for early signups,

and highlighted the beauty of the triathlon site. Action shots of racers in the triathlon were used

to allow my audience to see each stage of the triathlon; swimming, biking, and running. These

posts were used to remind participants that signing up early will save them money and motivate

them through visuals of other racers in past years. There were two different postings on

Instagram and Twitter that urged my target to sign up early (appendix T & U).

Six videos were posted throughout the campaign that not only promoted the triathlon, but

allowed my target to gain insight into the event through previous racers experiences. I believed
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more people would sign up early if they were able to gain inspiration through other racers

stories. The first video posted on Facebook was a mini-video created through Adobe After

Effects and iMovie that used custom animations of racers swimming, biking, and running

(appendix G). This video explained that signing up early would save money and used the hashtag

#Grandman2017. I included the hashtags because they can be used to not only add context and

metadata to posts, but also for promotion and publicity (Cunha, Et al, 2011, p. 58). Another

short video was posted to Facebook and Twitter that incorporated video footage from the past

years triathlons (appendix H). This short video explained the benefits of running in a triathlon

that my target audience may not have known. The hashtag #swimbikerun was used to promote

the three aspects that make up the triathlon. The last short video also used video footage from

last years race along with footage that I captured in Fairhope. The video was posted on

Facebook and Twitter and informed my target audience that early sign-ups end April 1, 2017

(appendix I).

The other three videos I developed consisted of small interviews with racers from past

years. These three videos all had different themes and reasons for signing up for the triathlon.

The first video titled Tales from a First-Timer was posted on Facebook (appendix D). Hanlon

gave me the contact information for Joe Aguirre who agreed to participate in the interview

(appendix V). I interviewed Joe Aguirre who shared his experience of running for the first time

last year. This video was intended to promote first time racing and is aimed at influencing people

who are on the verge of signing up and getting out of their comfort zones. The video interview

was shot in Bienville Square and uses b-roll footage from last years race along with footage I

captured in Fairhope. The second video titled Catching up with the Blunck Family was posted

to Facebook (appendix E). I also obtained contact information for the Bluncks who agreed to be
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in the interview (appendix W). I interviewed two longtime racers, husband and wife Chris and

Carl Blunck. The Bluncks emphasized how important the Grandman Triathlon is to them and

why Fairhope is such a special triathlon destination. I created this video to allow my target to see

how pretty and unique Fairhope is and emphasize that the triathlon can be a fun family event.

This video was shot in the Bluncks backyard and used b-roll footage of last years race along

with footage I shot in Fairhope and at the Bluncks home. The last video interview shot is titled

Team Racing in the Grandman and was also posted on Facebook (appendix F). I interviewed

team racers Alison Herlihy and Laura Curtis. Hanlon gave me their contact information, and they

agreed to take part in the interview. Alison and Laura explained why signing up as a team is

more beneficial for them and how the triathlon is attainable for anyone. They focused on how

each part of the triathlon works and that running with a team is more fun for them. This video

interview was also shot in Bienville Square and used b-roll footage from last years race.

Project Implementation

In order to have a successful capstone, I planned out a timeline in the project proposal to

serve as a guideline for my project (appendix X), but not everything on the timeline went as

planned. On February 5, 2017 I filed an IRB application to be both exempt and expedited

(appendix Y). I filed for an exempt review due to a survey questionnaire explained in the

evaluation section. I filed for an expedited review in order to hold a focus group. The focus

group would have allowed me to recruit runners and ask questions based on their motivations for

running in triathlons and races. I intended to use that information to create promotional posts on

social media. The application was signed by me on February 5th, and signed by Dr.

Kotchemidova on February 7th (appendix Y). The IRB application was then sent by email to Dr.

Demetrius Semien on February 8, 2017 (appendix Z) and was not approved until March 15, 2017
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 15

(appendix AA). Since it took over a month for my IRB application to be approved, I was forced

to drop my focus group and instead rely on research for my postings.

The social media campaign was set to launch on February 22, 2017, but due to the

Baykeeper restricting me from administrator rights to the social media accounts, the campaign

didnt start until March 2, 2017. The week one social media calendar sent to Hanlon on February

23, 2017 was not opened by him until March 2, 2017. The second social media calendar was sent

on March 5 2017, but due to constant changes and tweaks to scheduled posts for that week,

content was not posted until March 16th. Week three social calendar was sent on March 13, 2017,

but nothing was posted for that week until March 21st. Week four social media calendar was sent

on March 20th, but once again content was not posted until March 26th. The final social media

calendar was sent on March 27th, but content was not posted until March 31st.

The first video interview with Joe Aguirre was shot on February 20, 2017, but it had to be

reshot due to an audio issue. Due to time constraints caused by Mardi Gras, I was not able to

meet with Joe Aguirre again to shoot until March 3rd. Due to Dr. Bluncks busy schedule, setting

up a time that worked to shoot the interview was hard. The original date to shoot the Blunck

interview was February 23rd, but wasnt actually shot until March 5th. The same issue occurred

with Alison Herlihy and Laura Curtis. Due to work restrictions and time constraints, I was not

able to shoot this interview until March 23rd. The original date was March 1st. I originally

planned on capturing footage of Fairhope on February 20th, but was delayed until February 23rd

due to bad weather.

Video one of Joe Aguirre was sent to Hanlon on March 8th, but due to several corrections

and edits, it was not posted until March 16th. The second video of the Bluncks was sent to Hanlon

on March 16th (appendix AB), but since Hanlon was busy editing the Mobile Baykeepers
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 16

twentieth anniversary magazine (appendix AC), it was not posted until March 26th. Video three of

Alison Herlihy and Laura Curtis was sent on March 29th, but it was not posted until Sunday April

2nd, after early signups had closed.

Throughout the campaign, I also encountered problems with the flyers I planned to

distribute. Each flyer was sent to Hanlon as scheduled, but it was not until March 22nd that

Hanlon informed me that the flyers would be posted or distributed (appendix AD) because the

Baykeeper wanted to use flyers created within the organization. In our initial meeting in January,

Hanlon encouraged me to develop three promotional flyers and did not discuss a desire to use

flyers developed by the Baykeeper.

The survey questionnaire was sent out on March 29th and closed on April 5th. Since Dr.

Kotchemidova extended the duration of the project to one extra week, problems that occurred

within my timeline did not affect the campaign. I had to adjust various aspects of my project

because of timeline issues, but was ultimately able to run run a five-week social media

campaign.

Measurement and Evaluation

To measure the success of the posts I created on social media, I originally planned to use

social media analytics. Since I did not have access to the social media accounts, I had to measure

success based on likes, retweets, and shares of each post on my own (appendix AE).

Facebook was the most successful of any platform used in the campaign. There were a

total of 107 likes and 13 shares for nine total posts. The Grandman Triathlon page on Facebook

has a total of 644 followers. The most successful posts were mini video one (appendix G) and

mini video three (appendix I) with 17 total likes and three total shares on each post. The least
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successful post on Facebook, generating only three likes, was the informational post on the

Baykeepers sewage spill campaign (appendix B).

Instagram was the second most successful of the three platforms I utilized for the

campaign. There were a total of 52 likes among four different posts. The Grandman Triathlon

page on Instagram has a total of 59 followers. The most successful post, which received 20 likes,

was a promotional message letting my target know that early sign-ups were ending soon

(appendix U). The post that had the least amount of success was the last promotional posting that

told my target early signups ended the following day (appendix T), which received only eight

likes.

The last platform used that had the least amount of success was Twitter. There were a

total of 18 likes and 11 retweets between five total postings. The Grandman Triathlon Twitter

page has a total of 210 followers. The most successful post was an informational post on the

Mobile Bay Watershed (appendix A) that totaled seven likes and four retweets. The post that had

the least amount of success was mini-video three (appendix I) that had just 1 like and one

retweet.

I evaluated the success of my overall campaign by doing a quantitative questionnaire that

gathered evaluative feedback from my target audience. The questionnaire, which I created

through Microsoft Word, served as an instrument for my survey (appendix AF). The online

survey was created through Google Forms and was shared on Facebook through convenience

sampling (appendix AG). The survey consisted of 12 questions, two nominal, and ten scale. The

two nominal questions (Q1 and Q2) asked respondents to list their age and gender. Q4, Q5, and

Q6 asked respondents if the postings on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter increased their

motivation to signup for the triathlon. Q3, Q7, Q9, and Q12 asked respondents specific questions
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 18

about different aspects of the triathlon that were based on the content they saw on social media.

Q8 asked respondents about their participation in triathlons. Q10 and Q11 asked how frequent

respondents checked social media and if hashtags used throughout the campaign motivated them

to register for the triathlon. The values of these scale questions used a Likert-type scale.

After collecting data, I ran a frequency test through SPSS (appendix AH). A total of nine

respondents answered the survey. The majority of respondents that answered this survey were

between the ages of 25-30 making up 44% of respondents. 66% of respondents agreed that they

would sign up for the Grandman Triathlon based off of the videos posted through social media.

88% of respondents agreed that the content shared on Facebook throughout the campaign made

them more motivated to signup, while only 22% of respondents agreed they were more

motivated to signup based off content posted on Twitter. 55% of respondents were neutral about

being more motivated to signup based off of the content posted on Instagram. 88% of

respondents felt neutral or agreed that they were more aware of the Baykeepers mission,

purpose, and campaigns based off of the posts. More than half of the respondents (55%) strongly

agreed that they run in triathlons. 55.6% of respondents strongly agreed that they were more

likely to signup based off postings and content that shared the venues location, while 44.4%

agreed. More than half of the respondents (55.6%) agreed that they check social media

frequently, but 66.7% felt neutral about the role hashtags played in the campaign. 66% of

respondents agreed they would sign up for the triathlon based on the videos posted, but only 44%

of respondents agreed that they shared posts on social media that motivated them to signup early.

Results of the Campaign

As of the end of the campaign on April 1, 2017, a total of 303 participants signed up early

for the triathlon (appendix AI). Since March 2nd, the start date of my campaign, the amount of
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 19

early signups increased significantly. On April 4, 2016, 138 participants signed up early for the

race. On April 4, 2017, 311 participants signed up early for the race marking a 125% total

increase. In an attempt to persuade more racers to sign up early, early registration was pushed up

two weeks earlier for 2017 compared to past years. Even after the change in registration

deadlines for 2017 (April 1) and last year April (14), there was still a 12% increase in early

signups with 303 in 2017 and 270 in 2016.

In 2016, three teams registered early. In 2017, only three teams made the deadline for

early registration as well. My goal was to increase three teams in 2016 to six teams in 2017. I

believe the reason for this issue was due to the video of Alison Herlihy and Laura Curtis being

posted a day after registration closed. Despite some difficulties encountered during the

campaign and my failure to increase team signups, my campaign was still a success as pointed

out by Hanlon in a letter (appendix AJ).

Problems Encountered Throughout the Project

Throughout the course of this project, there were many problems that occurred that I had

to address. The first issue was the fact that I was unable to hold administrator rights to the

Grandman social media accounts. If this issue had not occurred, I believe other problems would

have been avoided. Over the course of my five-week campaign, I scheduled 28 total posts, but

only 18 were posted. The social media schedules were sent on time to Hanlon at the beginning of

each week, but many of the posts on the schedule were never posted. This was an issue because

there were only three informative messages that posted. My goal was to inform my target on the

Baykeepers campaigns and activities. Because of the failed postings, I do not believe they were

informed enough. The campaign also started eight days later than expected. If I had administrator
THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 20

rights, this problem would not have occurred. The campaign was still able to last five weeks

despite the late start.

At the start of this campaign, it was advised that I make three separate flyers, post them

to social media, and distribute them at local triathlons, but I was unable to do this. To make up

for the flyers, I supplemented three short promotional videos that helped with success of the

campaign.

I had to change a major aspect of my campaign after discovering that the IRB would not

be filed in time. I put a lot time into recruiting members for a focus group and writing up

questions to be asked. After spending several weeks waiting, I proceeded to use research to post

content to social media instead.

I was not able to gain deeper analytics for the posts on social media since I did not hold

administrator rights. I had to individually count every like, share, and retweet on every post that I

made. I was able to gain analytics for likes, shares, retweets, and success of posts and platforms,

but was not able to gain information such as page reach, page-views, post reach, and followers

gained.

Reflection

At the beginning of the semester, I was worried about how this project was going to go

because of unexpected changes to my plan. I originally planned on working with my friend and

classmate Ryan Flynn on this project so that I would have someone to work with along the way.

Now that I have completed this project, I am grateful to have run this campaign by myself

because I was able to do things my own way, and I gained confidence in my own abilities. I ran

into several problems throughout this process, but the campaign was ultimately successful and

this project allowed me to gain valuable experience for the future.

THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 21

I rediscovered how much I enjoy the creative side of communications while creating

different types of content for the campaign. Even though the flyers were not used, I do not feel

that I wasted time making them because they not only enhanced my graphic design skills, but

will allow me to showcase work for the future.

This was the second time I had the privilege to work with social media. I enjoyed every

aspect of creating unique content and messages for a public audience and waiting to see if they

liked it, shared it, or retweeted it. I was also excited to see some of the comments on the posts.

When I saw the success of some of my posts, I gained confidence that allowed me to enjoy the

duration of this campaign. Running this campaign allowed me to gain experience for potential

social media jobs that I may apply for in the future.

To conclude, the amount of work and time put into this course and project was stressful at

times, but it left me with a very rewarding feeling in the end. Unlike many majors at Spring Hill,

I was able to gain hands-on experience in the type of work I will be doing in the real world post

graduation. The Communications program at Spring Hill involves a strategic, in-depth seminar

unlike many of the majors at this school. I did not know how much time and effort it would take,

but in the end, I am so thankful I chose this path because I have learned so much that I will not

only apply in future jobs, but in everyday life.

THE GRANDMAN: A PR CAMPAIGN FOR BAYKEEPERS ANNUAL TRIATHLON 22

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