Syracuse Smart Money

STRATEGIC
COMMUNICATIONS
PLAN BOOK
MAY2017
 Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................... 2
Meet the Team.......................................................... 3
Executive Summary.................................................. 6
Research ................................................................... 11
Goals and Objectives .............................................. 17
Strategies & Tactics ................................................ 19
Timeline.................................................................... 28
Budget...................................................................... 29
Evaluation ................................................................ 30
Appendix................................................................. 34
Credentials and Resources................................... 46

1
 Introduction

Mix of 6 Communications is a digitally-integrated independent

marketing and public relations agency comprised of "6" public

relations master's students at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public

Communications at Syracuse University. Founded January 2017, Mix

of 6 Communications is dedicated to providing strategic brand

counsel, multimedia design, social media expertise and

communications solutions to organizations who aspire to build

stronger relationships with stakeholders.

2
Meet the Team

Samantha Colton, Account Executive

Samantha Colton is the Account Executive at

Mix of 6 Communications.Colton joined Mix

of 6 Communications in January 2017 after

previously interning as a Public Relations and

Account Services intern at Pinckney Hugo

Group.Colton received a B.A. in

Communication and Media Studies from St.

Lawrence University,and is currently working

towards a M.S. in Public Relations at the S.I.

Newhouse School of Public

Communications at Syracuse University. She

is from Syracuse, New York.

Nichole Henderson, Creative Director 3

Nichole Henderson is the Creative Director at

Mix of 6 Communications.Henderson joined

Mix of 6 Communications in January 2017

after previously interning as a Public

Relations + Public Affairs intern at Eric Mower

+ Associates. Henderson received a B.A. in

Broadcast Journalism and a B.A. in Public

Relations from Marshall University,and is

currently working towards a M.S. in Public

Relations with an emphasis in Financial and

Investor Communications at the S.I.

Newhouse School of Public Communications

at Syracuse University. She is from Bunker Hill,

West Virginia.

Meet the Team

Dejah Gilliam,Planner

Dejah Gilliam isaPlannerat Mix of 6

Communications. Gilliam joined Mix of 6

Communications in January 2017 after

previously interning as a Public Relations and

Marketing intern at Bankers Healthcare

Group.Gilliam received a B.A. in

Communication Arts from Johnson C. Smith

University,and is currently working towards a

M.S. in Public Relations at the S.I. Newhouse

School of Public Communications at

Syracuse University. She is from Charlotte,

North Carolina.

Jie Fu,Planner 4
Jie Fu is the second Plannerat Mix of 6

Communications.Fujoined Mix of 6

Communications in January 2017 after

previously interning asa Marketingintern

atSyracuse University Food Services.

Fureceived a B.A. inInternational Business

and TradefromShanghai International

Studies University,and is currently working

towards a M.S. in Public Relationsat the S.I.

Newhouse School of Public Communications

at Syracuse University. She is fromShanghai,

China.

Meet the Team

Gayle Landry,Editor

Gayle Landry is theEditorat Mix of 6

Communications.Landryjoined Mix of 6

Communications in January 2017 after

previously interning as a Public

Relationsintern at The American Red

Cross.Landryreceived a B.A. in

Communicationsfrom the University of

Massachusetts, Amherst,and is currently

working towards a M.S. in Public Relations at

the S.I. Newhouse School of Public

Communications at Syracuse University. She

is fromBinghamton, New York.

Yue (Sharon) Shi,Research Director 5

Yue (Sharon) Shiis theResearch Director at

Mix of 6 Communications.Shijoined Mix of

6 Communications in January 2017 after

previously interning as

aCommunicationsintern atthe National

Recycling Coalition.Shi received a B.A. in

Broadcast JournalismfromShanghai

University,and is currently working towards

a M.S. in Public Relations at the S.I.

Newhouse School of Public Communications

at Syracuse University. She is from Kaifeng,

China.

 Executive Summary

Client Background:
Syracuse Smart Money provides Syracuse University students

with various programs that contribute to their knowledge of

financial matters while they are current students and for life

after graduation. These programs include peer coaching,

budgeting advice and informational seminars. Although the

office has several great opportunities for students to take

advantage of, not many students know of itsexistence.

Our Goal:
Our main goal for this campaign is to raise awareness of

Syracuse Smart Money as well as to increase the amount of

people that make appointments with one-on-one peer coaches.

It is our belief that this is the key to increasing the brands

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reputation and getting students actively involved in Syracuse

Smart Money's programs.

Public Relations Problem:

Due to lack of awareness of Syracuse Smart Money among

students on the Syracuse University campus, Syracuse Smart

Money has been advised to increase media coverage, increase

visibility of organizational identity and increase exposure of peer

coaches (name, face, story and attitude) on Syracuse

University's campus.
 Executive Summary

Key ResearchInsights:
What we found in our previous research last semester is that

Syracuse University students not only lack a thorough

understanding of the services Syracuse Smart Money provides, but

also havea low understanding of basic financial literacy

concepts.

Target Audience:
For the purpose of this campaign, our target audience includes all

Syracuse University undergraduate students.

Our secondary audiences include all Syracuse University graduate

students, faculty and staff.

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 Executive Summary

Goals:
1. Increase availability of correct public information about

Syracuse Smart Money's programs.

2. Build relationships between students and their finances.

3. Increase students' awareness of Syracuse Smart Money's

programs.

4. Increase visibility of the Syracuse Smart Money peer coaches

on campus.

Objectives:
1. By May 2, 2018, generate five placements in local newspapers

or online news publications about Syracuse Smart Money.

2. By May 2, 2018, increase Syracuse University's student

populations' awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys one-on-one

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meetings and programs by 10 percent.

3. By May 2, 2018, increase the visibility of Syracuse Smart

Money's peer coaches around campus by 50 percent.

4. By May 2, 2018, increase awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys

educational programs by 10 percent among the freshman and

sophomore classes.

 Executive Summary

Strategies and Tactics:

For this campaign we aimto increase student awareness of the

Syracuse Smart Money brand as well as to increase the amount

of students who take advantage of Syracuse Smart Moneys

services.

We will employ a variety of different strategies and tactics to

achieve our goals and objectives. These tactics will include but

are not limited to: flyers, promotional videos and national/local

media coverage.

We strategically created these tactics as we believetheyarethe

best ways to reach our target audiences.

This campaign is meant to be an unveiling of Syracuse Smart

9
Moneys new name, logo and brand.

Recommended Budget
Our goal is to keep the budget of this campaign as minimal as

possible. All of the budget will be used strictly for printing and

events. The total cost of this campaign is expected to be no

more than $1,650.

 Executive Summary

Outcomes Expected
The ultimate goal of this campaign is to increase the amount of

appointments made for Syracuse Smart Moneys one-on-one

peer coaching meetings as well as to increase the amount of

people who attend the programs, workshops, and events.

By doing this, we will be enforcing the organizations mission of

increasing the amount of students on the Syracuse University

campus who have at least a basic understanding of crucial

financial concepts.

By meeting the students where they are, using flyers in

academic buildings, posting videos on social media platforms

that students currently enjoy using and hosting events in heavily

trafficked student-areas, we will be able to influence students

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in a measurable and realistic way.

 Research

Problem Statement:
Due to lack of awareness of Syracuse Smart Money among

students on the Syracuse University campus, Syracuse Smart

Money has been advised to increase media coverage, increase

visibility of organizational identity and increase exposure of peer

coaches (name, face, story and attitude) on Syracuse University's

campus.

Situational Analysis:

External Factors

1. STRENGTHS

Favorable reviews: 11
Syracuse Smart Money provides high-quality services. Most

students who have been to its services give positive responses.

According to the in-depth interviews we conducted in Fall 2016,

all four of the student interviewees who had been to Syracuse

Smart Money liked the service, if not loved it. They said the service

provided met their expectations and they actually learned more

than expected.
 Research

2. WEAKNESSES

Low level of visibility and awareness about the benefits of

the program on-campus:
Syracuse Smart Money is new program on-campus. There is a lack

of exposure and awareness among Syracuse Universitys students,

faculty and staff. It has a Twitter account of 219 followers with 93

likes at a university of nearly 15,000 undergraduate students and

5,000 graduate students. According to 15 randomly-selected

in-depth interviews we conducted among undergraduates in 2016,

no one has heard about this service and 80 percent of them had

no idea what Syracuse Smart Money provides.

Misconception:
According to the in-depth interviews, 78 percent of 12
undergraduate students think that financial issues do not concern

them yet, therefore they do not want to plan for future finances

and attend financial literacy services. Syracuse Smart Money

needs to educate students about the importance of planning

early.
 Research

3. OPPORTUNITIES

Potential to grow:
Syracuse Smart Money officially launched in January 2017. It is a new

program and has much potential to grow. Five new peer coaches have

been trained by professor and founder of Syracuse Smart Money, Derek

Brainard, and are the first generation of the financial coaching program.

With the addition of the peer coaches, Syracuse Smart Money is

expected to attract more students, peer coaches and will be increasing

recognition significantly through a consistent publicity campaign

created by Mix of 6 Communications and word-of-mouth

communication.

Potential cooperation and partnerships on-campus:

There is a potential for cooperation with campus resources, like field

teaching for finance classes. As Syracuse Smart Money is a subsection 13

of the SU Financial Aid Office, this office can also partner with Syracuse

Smart Money and encourage students who are seeking financial aid to

use the financial advising services provided by Syracuse Smart Money

before, during or after receiving financial aid.

Specialty:
Many undergraduates, who do not major in finance have only limited

financial knowledge. They need Syracuse Smart Moneys services to

equip them for a successful financial future. According to a survey

conducted on Syracuse Universitys campus, 35 percent of students

strongly agreed that they were worried about their student loan debt

and 34 percent of students agreed that budgeting is important and they

would like to learn more. This is a great opportunity for Syracuse Smart

Money to use its specialty to help these students.

 Research

4. THREATS

Local threats:
There are no other financial literacy programs at Syracuse

University. So, Syracuse Smart Money has no threats on-campus

and does not face any direct competition. The program has the

privilege of pioneering the first-ever peer financial coaching

sessions and student-lead financial programs.

National threats:
At the national level, there are a handful of financial literacy

programs that exist at universities across the country. One highly-

successful program is Scarlet and Gray Financial at The Ohio

State University. Once Syracuse Smart Money launches this

publicity campaign, word will spread of its existence and it will

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begin to compete with other nationally recognized peer-to-peer

financial programs. Syracuse Smart Money will have to ensure that

it is continuing to increase attendance of its programs and

coaches meetings and that it is always helping students better

understand their personal finance.

 Research

Internal Factors:

1. No competition: Syracuse Smart Money is the only financial

educational service on campus. There is no competition at Syracuse

University. It is perfect timing to let students know about this unique

financial service and encourage them to attend.

2. Significance of the program and its importance to students:

Syracuse Smart Money equips college students with essential

financial skill sets. Students are more likely to see the importance of

a subject if it is of high impact and is relevant to them. Therefore,

they will be participating and interacting with it more often (Kuh,

2009). According to the in-depth interviews in Fall 2016, all four

students decided this was important for their future planning, and

one participant mentioned that a service like Syracuse Smart 15

Money would cost a lot of money after school.

3. Mundane topic: Finance is not an interesting topic for many

students. Attracting them to attend such events or services will be

challenging.

4. Sensitive topic: Peoples finances are a private topic. Some are

not willing to talk about their financial problems or plans to others,

especially to other students. Therefore building trust and strong

relationships will help with the programs overall success.

 Research

Identification of Key Publics:

Primary audience:
Syracuse Universitys freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes

Secondary audiences:
SU graduate students

SU staff, faculty and veterans

SU parents, SU alumni, the media

The key audience that Syracuse Smart Money aims to attract

is Syracuse Universitys undergraduate students.

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Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Increase availability of correct public information

about the Syracuse Smart Money programs.

Objective 1: By May 2, 2018, generate five placements in local

newspapers or online news publications about Syracuse Smart

Money.

Objective 2: By May 2, 2018, increase Syracuse University's

student populations' awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys

one-on-one meetings and programs by 10 percent.

Goal 2: Build relationships between students and their

finances. 17
Objective 1: By May 2, 2018, increase Syracuse University's student
populations' awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys one-on-one

meetings and programs by 10 percent.

Objective 2: By May 2, 2018, increase awareness of Syracuse

Smart Moneys educational programs by 10 percent among the

freshman and sophomore classes.

Goals and Objectives

Goal 3: Increase students' awareness of Syracuse Smart

Money's programs.

Objective 1: By May 2, 2018, increase awareness of Syracuse

Smart Moneys educational programs by 10 percent among the

freshman and sophomore classes.

Objective 2: By May 2, 2018, increase Syracuse University's

student populations' awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys

one-on-one meetings and programs by 10 percent.

Goal 4: Increase visibility of the Syracuse Smart Money peer

coaches on campus. 18
Objective 1: By May 2, 2018, increase the visibility of Syracuse
Smart Money's peer coaches around campus by 50 percent.

Objective 2: By May 2, 2018, increase Syracuse University's

student populations' awareness of Syracuse Smart Moneys

one-on-one meetings by 10 percent.

 Strategy and Tactics

Strategy 1: Create awareness of Syracuse Smart Money in the

media.

Target Public: Entire undergraduate population, graduate

students, the media and other, national college programs that are

thinking about coming up with a financial literacy program.

Rationale: Syracuse Smart Money officially launched in January

2017, and is unknown to its key audiences. By releasing correct

public information in articles in the press, we will be able to reach

out to our target audiences and make them aware of the services

that Syracuse Smart Money provides. We will reach out to local and

national news outlets.

Tactic 1: Send press releases to the media in order to receive 19

placements.

The press releases will be timely and interesting in order to get

these outlets to run Syracuse Smart Money's story.

These stories will cover everything from the current crisis of

students and their massive amounts of student loan debt to the

services that Syracuse Smart Money's new office offers to alleviate

students' financial worries.

As the program goes on, it will continue to publish stories that

show the benefits of attending its programs as well as testimonials

from people who have used its services.

 Strategy and Tactics

Tactic 2: Create a bi-monthly column in the Daily Orange where

the coaches give finance and budgeting tips.

By creating a bi-monthly column in a local newspaper on campus,

we will be giving the students a consistent message that they can

look forward to every other month.

This will not only get students more engaged with the Syracuse

Smart Money office, but it will also give students yet another way

to gain insight on their finances and increase credibility of its

programs.

Tactic 3: Link to the published articles on social media in order to

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get more views on the articles that we are able to place.

In order to maximize publicity, we will make sure to repost links to

the published articles on Syracuse Smart Money's sole social media

platform, Twitter.

We will also make sure the articles are shared on social media

pages ran by Syracuse University.

By completing these tactics, we will not only receive more

engagement with our current students that use Syracuse Smart

Money's services, but we will also be able to reach new students

who have yet to hear about the services provided.

 Strategy and Tactics

Strategy 2: Create awareness of Syracuse Smart Money on

Syracuse University's campus.

Target Public: Undergraduate and graduate students

Rationale: As of right now there are only a hand full of universities

that offer a financial literacy program. Syracuse Smart Money will

eventually sell itself once the word gets out. The student debt level

in the United States is above one trillion dollars; this is higher than

ever before. By increasing awareness of this program, the amount

of students who take advantage of this service will increase as

well; then, the confusion of student finances among the students

will decrease.

Tactic 1: Syracuse Smart Money Dollar Flyers 21

We will create and design a mock bill that has Syracuse Smart

Moneys logo on it.

This dollar flyer will become a symbol that is easily recognizable

and fun to interact with on-campus.

Each bill will incorporate the name of one of Syracuse Smart

Money's programs, the time,date and location of the event, and our

agency's logo.

The bills will be handed out around campus when Syracuse Smart

Money has events coming up.

 Strategy and Tactics

Tactic 2: Run events through Resident Assistants in the residence

halls.

By hosting events right in the homes of the students, we will be

able to increase awareness of students who otherwise may not

have seen the other forms of advertising. This will be a great way

for our target audience to interact with Syracuse Smart Money's

new brand and get to know the coaches.

Tactic 3: Conduct a booth at the students' activities fair

By participating in the students' activities fair, we are providing

students with another opportunity to be exposed to Syracuse Smart

22
Money's new name, logo and advertising, the students who attend

can participate in financial games, they can learn shocking

financial statistics and they can see and talk to the peer coaches

who will be advising them in the future.

 Strategy and Tactics

Strategy 3: Increase visibility of Syracuse Smart Money's peer

coaches on Syracuse University's campus.

Target Audience: Undergraduate and graduate students

Rationale: By increasing the presence of the peer coaches on-campus

by 50 percent, we are able to acclimate the students to the idea that

students can teach other students how to manage their finances. Our

research shows that people do not go to Syracuse Smart Money's office

because they do not know what it is, or they do not think it provides

services that they need right now. Not only will we be able to get them

used to the idea that students can help students with their finances,

but we will also help spread the word of the program ensuring students

that they do need the services Syracuse Smart Money offers. By making

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the coaches "symbols" on-campus, we in turn make Syracuse Smart

Money more approachable.

Tactic 1: Intro Video

This introduction video will be a short and fun video that introduces

the Syracuse Smart Money coaches and programs.

This video will not only be interactive in order to increase engagement,

but it will also be a fun way to start off some of Syracuse Smart Money's

other program sessions.

It will also include shocking statics about students and their finances

that some students may not know. We hope the video will entice

students to find out more about Syracuse Smart Money.

 Strategy and Tactics

Tactic 2: Coaches' Flyers

These personalized flyers will incorporate one coach on each

flyer, the coaches' focus area in Syracuse Smart Money, the

coaches' major(s) and minor(s) and a quote from the coach.

These flyers will help with engagement as well as reaching a

population of students that otherwise may have been missed.

Tactic 3: Tabling at Schine Student Center.

By having our coaches table in the Schine Student Center,

24
located in the middle of the Syracuse University Campus, we will

not only be able to increase awareness of Syracuse Smart Money's

programs, but we will also increase the visibility of our student

coaches.

Our coaches will be at the table with the ability to explain what

they do, what the office has to offer and how important it is for

their peers to manage their finances.

Due to the placement of this tabling event, we will gain great

visibility from students across campus.

This will be a good location in order to spread awareness.

 Strategy and Tactics

Strategy 4: Increase attendance at Syracuse Smart Money's

programs.

Target Population: Undergraduate students

Rationale: Increasing the number of students that attend Syracuse

Smart Moneys financial programs will bring more awareness to the

office, and increase the number of people who sign up for one-on-one

meetings with the peer coaches. Simply put, Syracuse Smart Money is a

great and useful product that students need, what we need to do is

help them understand what the program provides and why they need it.

Tactic 1: Create buzz about Syracuse Smart Money during orientation.

25
By getting the opportunity to speak to the entire freshman class, we

will be able to get Syracuse Smart Money's name out there in a way

that otherwise would be very challenging.

If this is done every year, in four years every student on campus will

have heard of the Syracuse Smart Money program.

At the orientation, students will be able to learn about the services,

get information about how to use them and learn the importance of

taking their finances seriously.

They will also be exposed to the brand, logo and peer coaches on day

one of their academic journey.

 Strategy and Tactics

Tactic 2: Get email lists from all freshman and sophomore classes.

By retrieving email lists for the freshman and sophomore classes, we

will have direct contact with each and every student.

This will be a good tool to help inform them of current programs as

well as future events that Syracuse Smart Money has to offer.

These emails will drive students to come to programs, and if nothing

else, they will get used to hearing and seeing Syracuse Smart Money's

name/logo around campus.

Tactic 3: Remind all students the fall of senior year to visit Syracuse
Smart Money.

At each event, we will encourage that the peer coaches have a 26

sign-up sheet asking students to put their information down and

answer "yes" or "no" if they want to be called in the fall of their senior

year in order to set up a one-on-one meeting with a peer coach.

Students get inundated with so much information about all the things

going on throughout campus that it is easy to forget about all the

amazing opportunities that are offered.

By having them sign up on this list, they are giving you permission to

call them later in college to remind them to take advantage of the

services that Syracuse Smart Money provides. This will also be a great

way to measure the success of each event and how many students are

planning for success in their financial future.

 Strategy and Tactics

Campaign Theme: Syracuse Smart Money

Campaign Tagline: Your Life. Your Money. Your Choices.

Syracuse Smart Money New Logo:

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Timeline

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 Budget

Budget description

The budget plan excludes the labor and utility fees since they will be included in daily

expenses of the department. However, it does cover the fees of printing, paper, event

giveaways and event set-ups. These are the materials required for executing the whole

campaign. Without the budget, the flyers and events will not be executed in this

campaign. If the budget is not approved the consequences will be that the objective to

increasing one-on-one peer coaching appointments and increasing peer coaches

visibility on Syracuse Universitys campus will not come to fruition.

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