TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Coloring with Cops

PR CAMPAIGN WRITE UP
Miriam, Jilianne, Lauren, Hannah, Chris
MC 4320
Professor Villagran

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………..3

Introduction……………………………………………………………………….4

Situational Analysis……………………………………………………………...4-5

SWOT………………………………………………………………………………….6

Audience……………………………………………………………………………….6,11-12

Demographics……………………………………………………………………...7

Research………………………………………………………………………....8-9

Key Messages…………………………………………………………………...12

Goals……………………………………………………………………………...12

Objectives………………………………………………………………………...12-13

Strategies………………………………………………………………………....13

Tactics…………………………………………………………………………….13-14

Timeline…………………………………………………………………………..n/a

Budget……………………………………………………………………………15

Evaluation………………………………………………………………………..16-17

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….18-19

References……………………………………………………………………...19-20

Appendix………………………………………………………………………...21-23

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Recent events involving UPD in combination with the lack of communication the department has

with students, faculty and parents has caused tension and distrust on campus. After meeting

with Police Chief Laurie Clouse and other officers, it is clear the UPD wants to strengthen their

communication and officer led programs on campus in order to improve their current position.

Our team will develop a campaign designed to improve UPD’s communication, promote the new

safe ride program and boost current programs. By doing so, students, faculty and parents will

feel safer and more positive about the role the department plays on campus. We propose an on-

campus campaign that will build non-enforcement relationships amongst bobcats and UPD. This

includes students, faculty, and other stakeholders. Negative incidents on campus brought

multiple news outlets to report activities on Texas State campus. UPD and Texas State want to

ensure that positive interactions and activities are equally broadcast. We are currently working

towards campaigns that are low budget, as our budget is not defined and will be situational.

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INTRODUCTION

This document includes the campaign plan, the tactics and strategies, objectives, goals, budget,

research and evaluation. The campaign plan is to improve the relationship between UPD and

the target audiences, which have been identified as parents, students and faculty, as well as

promote the rideshare program “TXSTGo.” The event, “Coloring with Cops,” can be

implemented easily and effectively by using the strategies and tactics discussed later. The key

messages are that TXSTGo will be the safest way for students to travel around campus at night,

and that social media platforms are the best way to connect with the target audiences. The total

cost of the campaign will be around $400. This campaign should be affordable and effective at

achieving the goals of the UPD.

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS:

Statement of Opportunity:

Texas State UPD has been in the local news lately for negative publicity on how they have

handled crime or the lack thereof. Negative news reports has created tension between the UPD

and the student body, as well as other stakeholders such as the San Marcos community, faculty

and parents of the students. This has also created negative publicity for Texas State University

as a whole, and could have an affect on student retention and future students. However, this

has created a unique opportunity for UPD to build a relationship while under a spotlight. When

executed correctly, a PR campaign that rebuilds trust and revives the Texas State brand as a

whole can show our stakeholders that Texas State can overcome any obstacle and is

committed to always progressing life for students.

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The University Police Department at Texas State University has a motto to “ Serve with

Integrity.” According to the UPD’s webpage, their vision statement is to “...be a high-performing,

diverse team, committed to the principles of community policing through the demonstration of

best practices in university law enforcement while providing a safe and inclusive learning and

working environment.”

Texas State University Police Department is looking to rebrand their image on campus through

programs such as TXSTGo, Coffee with Cops, self defense classes and other ways that

connect them with the community. Police Chief Laurie Clouse expressed her interest in wanting

a better relationship between the UPD and students, faculty, parents and stakeholders

jurisdiction over. UPD wants to be perceived as more human, and less like a force against the

community. However, in the past year the police department has experienced several instances

of backlash from students and faculty. Because of these occurrences, the nature of the

relationship between UPD and students is perceived as strained by many in the Texas State

University community. During the spring semester, students were arrested on campus and this

event turned into a media frenzee. The result of this incident swayed student council members

to call a vote in an attempt to remove UPD from campus- although UPD has remained on

campus. Because of incidents like these, our goal is to rebrand UPD as a personable police

force and to build healthy relationships between the department and their constituents.

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Strengths: Funding for a new ride share Weaknesses: The topic of removing the

program is beneficial to the police university police from campus was voted on

department. They also have programs on but did not pass. Social media presence

campus like coffee with cops, self defense could and should be more engaging and

classes, etc. genuine.

Opportunities: Creating an approachable Threats: During our first meeting, Chief

presence on campus will fortify student Clouse claimed that there is a “small vocal

relationships and help UPD serve their group” on campus that speaks the loudest.

constituents to their fullest potential. The We do not have a study that shows the rates

success of the ride share program will also of satisfaction regarding UPD on campus. In

increase the positive relationship between addition, the new rideshare program does

campus and UPD. not, as of yet, have handicap capabilities and

should look towards future backlash.

Audience

Students: 18-25

Faculty: 20-60

Parents: 30-60

Demographics:

The following age groups cover a wide range of demographics. We serve a community of all

different races, cultures, and sexualities.

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 Check the infographic below taken from the Texas State Demographics page. Minority

populations at Texas State are steadily increasing. It is also interesting to note that the female

population has also been on a steady increase.

Development: UPD is struggling it maintain a positive reputation with a portion of the Texas State

campus. Our team wants to create a better image for the department and strengthen the relationship it

has with students, faculty and parents. In the past UPD has struggled to communicate efficiently with

the public. Their attempts are often lost in the multiple communication channels that Texas State

utilizes. However, they have created programs such as Coffee with Cops in order to help improve

these relationships. In the fall a new safe ride program will start in order to help with security and

transportation on campus.

Current Position: Some of the campus does not support or view UPD positively. The

communication between UPD and students, faculty and parents can be improved to be more

efficient and authentic.

Direction: The campaign will address and offer a solution to the communication problems that

UPD currently faces, promote the new safe ride program to ensure success, boost current UPD

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programs such as Coffee with Cops and create others. By doing so, UPD relationship with

students, faculty and parents will be strengthened.

Obstacles: Problems that might occur during the campaign include backlash about the lack of

handicap accessibility in the new ride share program and possible poor usage of the program.

UPD may also face pushback from students about the new programs that we suggest. Most

students view the police as people to avoid, so changing their perception and encouraging them

to get involved with police will be a challenge.

Resources: A certain budget was not dedicated to the campaign by UPD, however Chief

Clouse stated that funding would not be an issue if the campaign was supported by the

department. UPD also has access to statistics about Bobcat Bobbies and other campus

programs, which will be helpful when implementing future programs.

Support & Evidence

Comparing the web pages from the TXST UPD, UT UPD and A&M UPD UT is the most

organized and easy to navigate followed by TXST UPD page. A main difference is the UT UPD

display not only contact for the non-emergency line and other campus safety programs but also

mental health services which I believe shows that UPD cares not only about the safety but also

the wellbeing of their students. If the TXST UPD updated their current web page with access to

the txst councilors or other mental health programs that would add a human level to the UPD

and show they care about the students and their well-being.

Welcome to UTPD. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2019, from https://police.utexas.edu/

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UT has a partnership with Lyft to provide their students with free rides on and near the campus.

By using an ap that the students are already familiar with allows them to have more access to

rideshare.

UT Night Rides. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://parking.utexas.edu/night

TXST UPD would be the first university in TX to have a safe ride program directly through the

UPD.

The most recent blow to the UPD relationship with the students was in May 2019 when UPD

arrested 4 students during a protest on campus. This incident has shaken the relationship the

students had with the campus UPD and recently called for a vote by the student government to

remove the UPD from the campus.

Blackburn, R. (2019, May 01). Four Texas State students arrested after 'incident in the Quad'.

Retrieved from

The May first incident was covered in an article on The Washington Times. Showing that the

audience isn’t just TXST students and family members, but also outside organizations as well.

This could also harm the TXST UPDs reputation as a safe campus for future students thinking

about applying here.

Chasmar, J. (2019, May 03). MAGA hat fight at Texas State University leads to 4 arrests.

Retrieved from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/3/maga-hat-fight-at-texas-

state-university-leads-to-/

RESEARCH: The idea of a UPD themed coloring book was sourced from the Georgia State

UPD who released their version and received positive feedback on social media. According to

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College Factual, Georgia State University is ranked the #96th (See Appendix A) most ethnically

diverse school in the nation. Their social media as well as their tactics were used as a blueprint

for the “Coloring with Cops” campaign.

Additionally, Coloring books have a proven therapeutic effect. Here are some notes on benefits

of adult coloring books.

- According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is a mental health

profession in which the process of making and creating artwork is used to "explore

feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and

addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety and increase

self-esteem."

- Marygrace Berberian, a certified art therapist and the Clinical Assistant Professor and

Program Coordinator for the Graduate Art Therapy Program at NYU, said, “Coloring

definitely has therapeutic potential to reduce anxiety, create focus or bring [about] more

mindfulness,”.

- Dr. Joel Pearson, a brain scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia

presented a different explanation for the therapeutic effect: Concentrating on coloring an

image may facilitate the replacement of negative thoughts and images with pleasant

ones.

“You have to look at the shape and size, you have to look at the edges, and you have to

pick a color,” Pearson told Nine MSN. “It should occupy the same parts of the brain that

stops any anxiety-related mental imagery happening as well. ... Anything that helps you

control your attention is going to help (Dovey, 2016).

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Additionally, research has shown that disability assistance by universities is something that the

UPD should take seriously. Being that the TXSTGo vans will not be wheelchair accessible, we

recommend getting ahead of the backlash by mentioning that the UPD hopes to expand the

budget and vans to assist students with disabilities (Skidmore,2019).

THEME: Coloring with cops: The other side of the UPD

AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION: Our primary target audience is students because students are

the main beneficiaries and stakeholders of the UPD and Texas State University in general.

Secondary would be parents, faculty, and staff because they are also stakeholders. They also

have a key influence on student retention and incoming students.

KEY MESSAGES:

Key message for the TXSTGo:

TXSTGo will be the safest way for students to go around campus at night; some buildings are

open until 3 AM, and now students will have transportation in any weather and to all Texas

State parking lots.

Key message for the UPD’s social media:

UPD’S most direct way to reach the students is through social media; UPD is active on Twitter

and Facebook, and frequently post about safety tips, events and important alerts.

Key message for parents to follow the UPD Facebook:

The UPD Facebook page is one of the best ways for parents to stay updated- over 8,000 people

already follow the UPD’s Facebook page. UPD promptly alerted the community through

Facebook after burglaries, bomb threats and more last year.

GOALS

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Our campaign goal is to increase communication between UPD and Texas State students,

parents and faculty through non-enforcement events and social media. We also want to

promote the new rideshare program we have branded as TXSTGo(See Appendix B).

OBJECTIVES

1. Increase social media following on Twitter and Facebook by 20% by the end of the fall

semester.

2. Reach 2,000 Instagram followers by the end of spring 2020.

3. Have 250 students use the new rideshare program in the fall semester.

STRATEGIES

The recommended strategies include:

- Creating the Coloring With Cops event with a tent on the quad

- Creating an Instagram and utilizing current social media platforms in order to effectively

promote the department and its programs

- Hire on student interns to help run the UPD’s social media

TACTICS

For the Coloring with Cops strategy UPD will rent a fan, tables, chairs and a tent(See Appendix

C). These items can be borrowed from USAC Lending Closet on the Texas State website.

https://www.sdi.txstate.edu/Support-and-Empowerment/USAC/USAC-Lending-Closet.html

The tent will be set up on the Quad during the first week of school in the fall semester, as well

as the first week in the spring semester. UPD will buy water bottles, donuts, crayons to give to

students and faculty when they stop to color with the cops at the tent. The custom coloring book

will be designed with pages that promote UPD and its programs. The material can be designed

and ordered by contacting Camelia1977 on Fiverr.com (link to her fiverr page see References)

Camelia offers 25 original coloring pages for $50 and does custom coloring pages via email. We

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believe her art style is best to give the UPD a more professional style coloring book that will

appeal to college aged students.

UPD will also create an Instagram (@TexasStateUPD) in order to help promote their programs

such Krav Maga, Coffee with Cops, Coloring with Cops, Citizens Police Academy, TXSTGo etc.

Instagram is a free popular visual platform that is vital in getting engagement from the intended

audiences. The posts would contain information about upcoming events, images from those

events, safety tips and personable posts to help humanize the officers and increase overall

engagement.

To hire on the paid interns the UPD will use money from their student worker budget. There will

be a job description and application that students will be able to fill out, and UPD will decide

what two students to move forward with. The plan suggests the students be from the journalism,

PR, graphic design or digital media departments in order to get the best skill set and allow

students to gain relevant career experience. The two interns will sign a nondisclosure

agreement, and meet with a designated officer once a week to go over the events of that week

and their ideas about posts. In case of a crisis, the interns will temporarily step down from their

positions and allow the officers to take over.

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TIMELINE

See thumb drive for digital version.

BUDGET

Coloring with cops :

$50-75- Water & Donuts

Coloring Book :

$120- Custom art from Fiverr artist

-10 page book, including cover

Social Media Contest:

$50 HEB GiftCard

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EVALUATION

Coloring with cops can be evaluated in both a short-term and long-term assessment. Our overall

objective is to increase better relationships between the TXST UPD and the TXST student body,

while also getting them involved in the various events the UPD has to offer.

Short-term evaluation for the Coloring with Cops can be measured in a week. First by using a

counter or have the students sign a paper to begin coloring we can count how many students

stopped by the Coloring with Cops tent to use its service. Then we track how much attention the

event is spreading over social media through the use of hashtags like #coloringwithcops giving

us an example of how much web traffic the event received. A successful turnout will be if we

could get 100 students to participate at the first Coloring with Cops event and we see 200

people sharing their experience at the event on social media.

The coloring pages at this event will all promote the many events the TXST UPD offers to the

community. Long-term success can be measured by getting a controlled number of how many

students are taking advantage of these opportunities at the start of the semester. After Coloring

with Cops, UPD will record data of how many students participated.

Sustainability: If the First Coloring with Cops idea is as successful as we plan, and we surpass

our numbers with how much activity the event got then it is only natural that we continue with

this event and make it a reoccuring event. Due to the size of the tent and all the materials

needed for a successful Coloring with Cops event we recommend hosting this event once a

semester. The event could be scheduled during other big events during the beginning of each

semester such as Homecoming during the fall and Spring Rush in the spring semester.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion with the strategies our campaign has listed, we believe that the Texas

State UPD can rebrand their image with the TXST student body into a more positive

relationship. Coloring with Cops is a good place to start by providing the student body a way to

engage with the UPD and get to know them in a non-enforcing, relaxing environment. Coloring

with Cops will also help inform the students about the various programs the UPD has to offer, in

addition to serving as the starting point where we can measure how much activity these events

receive; ultimately allowing the UPD to measure the effectiveness of their programs.

Hiring 2 students to run the UPD’s social media will help the UPD expand their social

media reach to even more people. In having a dedicated team to run their social media full time,

the UPD will always keep the San Marcos community up to date on the latest news, raise

awareness to their events, and humanize the UPD. Additionally, a more active social media

presence would allow for the parents of students to stay up to date on everything that is

happening on campus, assuring them that their child is at a safe environment.

The TXSTGo safe ride program will ensure students have access to free transportation

to safely navigate campus, regardless of weather and available at late hours of the night when

other safe ride programs have stopped running. With the implementation of the TXSTGo

program, students will maintain a feeling of security on campus as well as the freedom to

experience what the campus has to offer them during after hours.

With our campaign we believe that the Texas State UPD can efficiently and effectively

change its relationship with the student body into a more positive one, expand their social media

reach, and share positive one-on-one experiences with the student body during the Coloring

with Cops events

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 REFERENCES

Highlights-Demographics. (2018, October 11). University Demographics. Retrieved from

https://www.ir.txstate.edu/reports-projects/highlights/highlights-demographics

https://police.utexas.edu/

https://parking.utexas.edu/night

Bradshaw, K., & Bradshaw, K. (2019, May 02). 4 Texas State students arrested amid
tension over demonstration that never was. Retrieved from
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190501/4-texas-state-students-arrested-amid-tension-
over-demonstration-that-never-was

Chasmar, J. (2019, May 03). MAGA hat fight at Texas State University leads to 4 arrests.
Retrieved from https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/3/maga-hat-fight-at-
texas-state-university-leads-to-/

Camelia1977 Fiverr.com profile: https://www.fiverr.com/camelia1977

Dovey, D. (2016, September 06). The Therapeutic Science Of Adult Coloring Books.
Retrieved from https://www.medicaldaily.com/therapeutic-science-adult-coloring-books-
how-childhood-pastime-helps-adults-356280

Skidmore, C. (2019, January 17). Universities can do more to support their disabled
students | Chris Skidmore. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/17/universities-can-do-more-to-support-
their-disabled-students

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 APPENDIX

A. Diversity at Georgia State University

B. TXSTGo logo

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C. Tent Instructions
1. Step 1: Approval of Quad
a. Table Tent form: https://gato-docs.its.txstate.edu/jcr:41006c0d-9805-45fa-a7c3-
c5da12cdcaaa/Table%20Tents.pdf
b. Food form: https://gato-docs.its.txstate.edu/jcr:f86da822-8703-4ddc-b1b1-
78ddd5ef73aa/Food%20Sales%20Participation%20Release%20and%20Indemni
ty.pdf
c. More info at the student involvement
2. Step 2: Getting materials
a. Option A: order coloring sheets
b. Print sheets at Alkek or UPD office.
c. Get crayons at walmart.
3. Step 3: Social media marketing
a. (see social media guidelines)
4. Step 4: Day of event
a. Set up the quad with tables, chairs, coloring sheets, crayons, donuts, coffee.
b. Talk to students while coloring, hand out coffee and donuts, and talk about
rideshare program.
c. WorkStudy students will take photos capturing the event and coloring sheets.
5. Step 5: Post-event social media marketing; Contest winner
a. Post photos of events to social media (See social media guidelines for
details).
b. Pick a winner from photos taken at the tent or emailed to UPD and post the
winner to social media directing the student to pick up their prize at the UPD
office.

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