Project management
Great communication begins with a great message. But crafting and sharing great messages take planning, coordination, and discipline. The engaging text and appealing design are the easy part. The hard part is defining the project, knowing why it's worth the time/money, and how you're going to get it done. Here's my approach.
I introduced structure to the SU Abroad recruiting team's marketing efforts. This year-at-a-glance document helped clarify the various stages of the recruiting cycle, and the tasks for each stage.
Before the readySET
Freshman and transfer students coming to Syracuse received nearly 100 pieces of mail in the summer before their arrival. These items arrived in no rational sequence, lacked graphic uniformity, and some did not even expressly indicate their affiliation with Syracuse University. It overwhelmed students and their parents, and it had to stop.
Freshman and transfer students coming to Syracuse received nearly 100 pieces of mail in the summer before their arrival. These items arrived in no rational sequence, lacked graphic uniformity, and some did not even expressly indicate their affiliation with Syracuse University. It overwhelmed students and their parents, and it had to stop.
Step 1: Organize all of the information and create a schedule
We cataloged each message, and organized them chronologically and thematically. We established five groups:
Getting Started: the most time-sensitive items and required tasks
Taking Care of Business: billing, rental, and other commercial items
Smart and Successful Living: guidelines on how to make college safe, healthy, productive, and fun
Transitioning to SU: information on residence halls, roommates, and adjusting to college living
Go! Syracuse Welcome: the least time sensitive items, events, and information on Syracuse
We informed contributors where they fit in the schedule, and gave them deadlines to share their content in time for production.
We cataloged each message, and organized them chronologically and thematically. We established five groups:
Getting Started: the most time-sensitive items and required tasks
Taking Care of Business: billing, rental, and other commercial items
Smart and Successful Living: guidelines on how to make college safe, healthy, productive, and fun
Transitioning to SU: information on residence halls, roommates, and adjusting to college living
Go! Syracuse Welcome: the least time sensitive items, events, and information on Syracuse
We informed contributors where they fit in the schedule, and gave them deadlines to share their content in time for production.
Step 2: design the system
Working with a creative agency and printing company, we engineered the actual publication, based on the groups and schedule. In the system, students would receive one envelope every few weeks, instead of many disparate pieces. Each color-coded envelope signaled students to the next phase of preparation. The envelopes contained matching color-coded fact sheets, booklets, or a combination of both. This made it easier to connect an individual piece to the system.
Working with a creative agency and printing company, we engineered the actual publication, based on the groups and schedule. In the system, students would receive one envelope every few weeks, instead of many disparate pieces. Each color-coded envelope signaled students to the next phase of preparation. The envelopes contained matching color-coded fact sheets, booklets, or a combination of both. This made it easier to connect an individual piece to the system.
Step 3: Produce the goods
Using content from contributors, each piece was designed and printed in the correct order, delivered to the mailing facility, and sent to students in batches, based on the schedule.
Using content from contributors, each piece was designed and printed in the correct order, delivered to the mailing facility, and sent to students in batches, based on the schedule.
The response
The readySET won five national awards in its first year, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' Gold Excellence and Grand Silver Excellence awards. And that was nice, but the response from parents like this one meant a lot, too.
The readySET won five national awards in its first year, including the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators' Gold Excellence and Grand Silver Excellence awards. And that was nice, but the response from parents like this one meant a lot, too.
The readySET was so successful in its pilot year that it was expanded (to six sets) in year two.
Evolution 1
The following year, our budget was significantly smaller. To save on production and mailing costs, readySET was adapted to a simplified magazine format, which was sent to students at the top of the season.
The following year, our budget was significantly smaller. To save on production and mailing costs, readySET was adapted to a simplified magazine format, which was sent to students at the top of the season.
Evolution 2
In response to student feedback and more budget limitations, readySET went online in 2010, where it has been since. Though the magazine and web format are different from the original box-and-packet format, the content scheme still holds up. It's proof that good message planning can work across multiple platforms.
In response to student feedback and more budget limitations, readySET went online in 2010, where it has been since. Though the magazine and web format are different from the original box-and-packet format, the content scheme still holds up. It's proof that good message planning can work across multiple platforms.
