HOW TO CREATE A CAMPAIGN

STEP BY STEP GUIDE

Here's an introductory, step-by-step guide to help you make the most effective use of your resources. It addresses some of the particular challenges facing college access marketers and draws on the experiences of both CAM practitioners and marketing experts. Each step includes links to real-life examples and helpful tools to use along the way.

While the steps are numbered one through six, they are not necessarily followed in a linear fashion. Depending on your particular circumstances, the order may change, several steps might be conducted simultaneously, or earlier steps will need to be revisited based on new information.

Before embarking on a college access campaign, it might be useful to read "Getting Started: A Dozen Things You Should Know Before Conducting an Adult Learning Campaign." Written by James Applegate of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, this case study provides several vaulable lessons learned that are applicable to any college access effort, whether the audience is middle-school youth or adult learners.

Preliminary Research and Goal Setting: Define the problem addressed, the target audience, the behavior change you are trying to influence, and the measurable outcomes the behavior change should create.
Read More
Engagement of Key Stakeholders: Make the case to potential partners and funders to get buy-in and support.
Read More
Audience Research: Learn everything you can about your audience - how they view the problem, the barriers they face, what arguments appeal to them, and what message channels they use.
Read More
Strategic and Tactical Planning: Plan the strategies, tactics, and messages for your campaign, then test your messages and ideas with the audience. Make sure an evaluation plan is built into your campaign plan.
Read More
Implementation: Implement your campaign plan.
Read More
Monitoring and Reporting: Monitor your progress, make changes as needed, and keep all stakeholders in the loop as the campaign rolls out. Document and report what you learn in the field.
Read More