VCU Robertson School
Project Background
For a senior year project, I was assigned a faux agency where we were given the direction to work with the VCU Robertson School to help build up their reputation. We pitched our executions and strategy, and won the pitch. The Robertson School of Media and Culture will be using our ideas in the future to establish a strong local reputation.
My Role: Team Strategist
Brand Problem
The Robertson School of Media and Culture is struggling to come up with a young and fresh branding to better appeal to future students. They recruited us to help build their reputation, which will in turn lead to better recruitment.
Our Findings
Upon research, we found that graduates of the Robertson School did not come to VCU intending to go to the Robertson School. Many students ended up here as a result of not getting accepted into the VCU Arts program. The Media and Culture school provided them a way to still have a major and future career in creativity (while actually making a steady living!)
Target Audience
While we want the Robertson School to become a nationally renowned school of media and culture, we have to first be recognized by those in our own area. Our target audience is focused on high school students interested in college in the Richmond area. Start local, and it will lead up to a national level.
The Typical Pitch
Most high schoolers are forced to witness the same boring pitch from men in suits promoting their university. The Robertson School thinks outside the box, and we don’t believe in pushing a path on people, nor do we love a pamphlet- most of those are destined to be trash fillers. So…how do we at the Robertson School build our reputation in high schools in the Greater Richmond Area without being pushy?
Strategy
Experience doesn’t come in a test
We created the Robertson Media and Culture Workshop.
What is this?
The Media and Culture Workshop is a hands on, interactive workshop for local high school students, led by our very own Robertson School students. This workshop will serve as a way for high schoolers to be immersed in the typical day of a Robertson student. It will cover all majors in the school; Journalism, Advertising, and Public Relations. Students will be able to role play real life situations within each major, because as the Robertson School says, experience doesn’t come from a test, but rather experience.
But wait! There’s a twist!
This workshop is a mutually beneficial program. While it serves to build the schools reputation to possible students, it also provides an internship opportunity for VCU students. Robertson students will run the entire workshop, from planning, to promotion, to the final execution. They will “go on tour” for an entire semester, visiting local high schools to showing what the Robertson School has to offer.
Internal Promotion
In order for the program to be successful, we created flyers to post in the Media and Culture building at VCU, the Edward T. Temple Building. These will serve to inform VCU students of an internship opportunity.
External Promotion
4X4 handouts will be given to high school students in creative elective classes, such as Photography, Graphic Design, Yearbook Club, and more. These are the students we are targeting, and the handout will inform them of an exciting opportunity.
The Copy
While this handout reads “If you’ve ever wondered how you can make a real career out of being creative, this workshop is for you. For hands-on learners, who would rather do projects instead of tests; we’re the Robertson School at VCU” you can read straight across as
“How can you make projects a real career instead of tests”
This copy further enforces our idea that experience does not come from in the form of a test.
What this means for the Robertson School
We believe that with a solid reputation, recruitment will then go up. We can expect to measure our results when recruitment spikes following our Media and Culture Workshop. Where there is a strong reputation, recruitment will follow.
In the end, VCU picked our pitch, and will be working on this workshop, as well as going forward with creating an internship for Robertson students.