Augusta University

PR Campaign Plan
Client: Augusta University Communications Department

Ian O’Malley
Madison Pierce
Diana Stubblefield
COMM 3600A
Dr. van Tuyll
May 5, 2020
Introduction:
In this PR Campaign Plan Proposal, our team will outline information that we believe
will promote Augusta University and the Communication department. This plan also seeks to
motivate and bring awareness of the AU Communication department to South Carolina high
school juniors and seniors. We seek to persuade them to enroll at Augusta University. We are
looking to bring five new South Carolina high school graduate residents to Augusta University
by Fall 2021.

Situation Analysis:
Beginning in the Fall 2019 semester, Augusta University began offering in-state tuition to
all South Carolina high school students who have lived in South Carolina for at least 12
consecutive months, according to the Augusta University school website. Prior to fall 2019,
Augusta University offered an in-state tuition scholarship only to South Carolina students in
Aiken and Edgefield counties which are the two counties located closest to the Georgia border
where AU resides. Augusta University’s website states, “The approximate savings is almost
$15,000 per year or a total of $60,000 over four years.” Augusta University's annual tuition
includes fees, housing, and meal plans. Listed in a chart on their website, the in-state tuition total
is $17,874 and the out of state tuition adds up to $32,876 based on numbers from 2018-2019
tuition and fees.
Augusta University has multiple campuses including the Health Sciences Campus which
holds the College of Nursing, College of Allied Health Sciences, The Graduate School, and The
Dental College of Georgia. According to the school website, the Medical College of Georgia is
the eighth largest medical school in the nation. According to the Augusta University website, the
Riverfront Campus is home to the Georgia Cyber Center and the School of Computer and Cyber
Sciences. The Summerville Campus is the hub for the liberal arts and entails the Katherine Reese
Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, the James M. Hull College of
Business, the College of Education, and the College of Science and Mathematics.
Pamplin College is the home of the Communication department at Augusta University.
According to the Augusta University website, “A degree in communication is all about
effectively sharing real stories and messages to impact others.” A communications degree will
give students the skills to communicate effectively through writing, visual media, and/or
interpersonal communication. Augusta University website states, “A Bachelor of Arts degree in
Communication opens the door to a wide variety of career paths and goals. It empowers students
to interact with the world around them, creatively pursue their passion, and make a lasting
difference.” The website also lists some potential industries a communications major could go
into. This includes, public relations, film, theatre, and entertainment, journalism, health
communication, ministry/religious organizations, higher education, advertising and marketing,
human resources, nonprofit industry, business, travel, politics, real estate, insurance, and law.
Some of the most popular communications courses among students are intercultural
communication, video production and digital editing, persuasion, health communication, and
public relations. There are thirteen total faculty and staff in the Augusta University
Communications Department. Dr. David Bulla is the Interim Chair of the communications
department and is also a lecturer. Amanda Main is an administrative assistant for the
communications department. Other communications professors and lecturers include, Professor
Rachel Balducci, Dr. William Bryant, Associate Professor Carolyn Cope, Professor Laura
Harrison, Dr. Pamela Hayward, Dr. Edgar Johson, Dr. Luis Rocha Antunes, Professor Amber
Routh, Professor Daniel Routh, Dr. Debra van Tuyll, and Assistant Professor Dylan Wilson.
These professors have a wide variety of specialties and are able to help provide students with a
wide array of courses and learning opportunities.

Research:
The main resource used for this campaign plan is the Augusta University school website.
Augusta University is our client and we are looking to them as a source of information regarding
this campaign. Augusta University has a page on their site called AU Facts and it has provided us
with official figures about the people, programs, and resources of Augusta University. They also
offer a page called South Carolina Scholarship that has provided all the formal information about
the in-state tuition costs versus the out-of-state costs for students. It details the qualifications for
South Carolina residents that will be eligible for in-state tuition at Augusta University. This page
also details the old scholarship that was offered only to Aiken and Edgefield county resident
students. The Communication Faculty & Staff page provided necessary information about the
professors and other faculty members in the Communication department.
https://www.augusta.edu/ie/ir/facts/
https://www.augusta.edu/admissions/southcarolina.php
https://www.augusta.edu/pamplin/communication/facultystaff.php
Instagram will be used to target users in South Carolina from ages 16-19. According to
the Hootsuite blog by Christina Newberry, Instagram has a potential advertising reach of 849.3M
users and Instagram users spend an average of 28 minutes per day on the platform. Newberry
also noted that 27% of teens use Instagram the most as of April 2018. According to Influencer
Marketing Hub, the average cost per clicks for an Instagram ad is between 70c-80c per click. The
cost can range higher or lower depending on the age group one is targeting and any other targets
such as location.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/
https://influencermarketinghub.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-advertise-on-instagram/
This research was necessary to help plan this campaign. The Augusta University website
gave insights on our client and everything they have to offer to our target audiences. This
information lends itself to the creation of our objectives, strategies, tactics, and tools. The
information from Christina Newberry about Instagram gave insights about our target audience
and our target media channel. Influencer Marketing Hub provided information about potential
costs for running Instagram ads which will help this campaign when it comes to budget.

Target Audience:
Our target audience includes South Carolina high school juniors and seniors. It also includes the
South Carolina high school guidance counselors. Both publics are imperative to the success of
our goals and objectives. We want to create copy and use effective strategies and tactics, which
will be discussed later, that will provide our audiences with key information they need to peak
their interest in Augusta University’s Communication Department and lead them to enrolling and
studying communications.

Objectives and Strategies:

Our strategies are directly linked to our main objectives. The main objectives of this campaign
are:
- To design and create an effective campaign that educates South Carolina high school
juniors and seniors about Augusta University’s Communications Department.
- To attract five South Carolina high school seniors to enroll in Augusta University and
declare a major in Communications by Fall 2021.
These objectives are clear, measurable, realistic, and obtainable for our campaign. The main
strategy in this campaign is:
- To promote the Augusta University Communications Department and institutional
benefits through copy created that will be distributed through online channels and snail
mail.

Tactics and Tools:

In order to promote the Augusta University Communications Department, we have created copy
that can be distributed to our target audiences through various channels. As a tool, we created an
online tri-fold brochure that can be easily adapted into a flyer. This copy has all of the essential
information needed for guidance counselors to have and also for interested students and parents.
There is information that highlights housing, potential jobs, annual tuition and fees, a student
testimonial, and clubs and organizations the communications department offers. All of this
information has been taken from the Augusta University school website. The brochure and it’s
information in detail can be seen below:

From left to right: inside flap, back cover, front cover

Complete inside of brochure

Target Media:
We plan to distribute this copy and our campaign messages through multiple online channels and
snail mail. Our campaign messages will be discussed in the next section. The target media
includes email, snail mail, and Instagram. Our plan is to distribute our copy and our messages
through email that will go directly to guidance counselors and can be forwarded to South
Carolina high school students. Snail mail will be used to send copy and information to South
Carolina high schools for juniors and seniors that are interested. We are expecting for this
method of media to also reach the parents of these students. Lastly, we plan to use Instagram as a
tool to target ads towards South Carolina high school students within a specific age range.

Messages:
Our messages seek to create awareness of the Augusta University Communications Department
among South Carolina high school juniors and seniors. We also seek to bring awareness to the
multitude of benefits awarded to South Carolina high school students, such as in-state tuition and
the scholarship opportunities. A message accompanying our emailed and snail mail brochure
would state:

Hello and Go Jags!

Augusta University Communications Department is looking for you! Our Katherine

Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences is home to our wonderful
Communications degree that will provide students with a wide variety of knowledge, tools, and
skills that will propel you into your future career. Augusta University is now offering in-state
tuition to ALL graduating South Carolina high school students as long as you have lived in South
Carolina for at least 12 consecutive months. This means that by attending you will be saving
around $15,000 per year. A degree in communications will provide students with skills in
writing, visual media, and interpersonal communication. Our degree plan allows for students to
reach a wide variety of career paths and goals. Our communications faculty and staff are highly
educated and ready to help provide all of our students with a wide array of courses and learning
opportunities! To learn more about Augusta University and it’s communications department go
to https://augusta.edu or contact the Department of Communication at (706)-737-1632 or
admissions@augusta.edu.

A message accompanying our Instagram ad of the brochure would state:

Go Jags! Apply to Augusta University! All graduating South Carolina high school students will
be offered in-state tuition to Augusta University located in Augusta Georgia. If you have a
passion in the liberal arts, our phenomenal Communications department is the place for you! We
offer a variety of classes in the communications degree program that will give students a diverse
learning experience. Click the link to learn more at
https://www.augusta.edu/academics/communications.

Budget:
Physical brochures would need to be printed to send to South Carolina high schools. There are
469 high schools in South Carolina. VistaPrint is an online site that can print marketing tools for
businesses and users. Their price for a tri-fold brochure is $9 per brochure. We plan to print
4,000 brochures which totals $36,000. Instagram ads will also be a part of this campaign. We
plan to spend $5.00 per day on an Instagram ad for the total of 183 days between Spring 2020
and Fall 2021. The total cost of Instagram Ads will be $915. All together the total budget for this
campaign is $36,915.

Timetable:

MONTHS WHAT TO DO:

August - November (2020) ● Send out online brochures to the South

Carolina high school guidance
counselors.
● Use VistaPrint printing service to
produce physical copies of the
brochure.
● Send out physical copies of the tri-fold
brochure to all South Carolina high
schools.

December (2020) - June (2021) ● Create Instagram Ad: based off of

brochure and message strategies

August (2020) ● Evaluation period: How many South

Carolina high school students enrolled
in AU and declared a major in
Communications.

Evaluation:
Accomplishments will be determined by the location demographics of the incoming
freshman class of Fall 2021. We are looking to bring at least five students from South Carolina
high schools to Augusta University at that time. We also will be looking for those students to
declare a major in Communications. If this does happen, we will know that the campaign and its
objectives were effective to the South Carolina high school publics.