Helen Storms

! 1! ! ! Marketing!Analysis!! ! ! Introduction! With!over!7,500!incoming!freshmen!students!being!welcomed!to!Purdue!University! this!fall,!there!are!literally!thousands!of!potential!friendships!and!connections!to!be! made.!A!number!that!large!can!seem!extremely!overwhelming.!Where!does!one!even! start!to!sort!through!a!group!of!people!that!large!in!search!of!someone!they!would! connect!well!with.!This!is!where!extracurricular!clubs!and!activities!become!such!an! integral!part!of!the!college!community.!They!link!people!together!who!are!interested! in!the!same!thing!whether!it!be!a!sport,!religious!group,!or!charity.!From!here,!new! friendships!can!more!easily!form!because!people!with!similar!passions!are!grouped! in!the!same!room!all!together.!Students!have!the!opportunity!to!meet!people!that! they!might!not!have!ever!had!a!class!with!or!otherwise!ever!crossed!paths!with! during!your!college!career.!However,!there!are!over!1,000!student!organizations! here!on!campus!and!new!ones!forming!all!the!time.!Finding!one!that!is!the!right!fit! can!be!like!finding!a!needle!in!a!haystack.! There!has!to!be!a!better!way!to!organize!this!information!so!that!students!can!more! effectively!filter!through!it!to!find!the!organizations!that!are!most!applicable!to!them! and!their!interests.!This!is!where!I!feel!a!networking!and!social!connection!app! directed!towards!Purdue!students,!and!especially!new!students,!will!really!make!a! difference.!!CampusConnect,will!be!a!free!resource!Purdue!students!can!download! via!the!App!Store.!It’s!purpose!is!to!aid!in!campus!unity!and!inspire!connections!and! greater!student!involvement!here!at!Purdue!University.!! Situation!Analysis!! Narrative:,, When,a,high,school,senior,receives,his,Purdue,acceptance,letter,in,the,mail,,enclosed,is, a,flyer,for,an,application,called,CampusConnect.,The,flyer,recommends,that,new, students,download,the,app,to,their,phones,prior,to,move,in,day,so,they,can,look, through,the,plethora,of,groups,and,organizations,to,see,which,they,might,be, interested,in,joining.,The,student,decides,to,download,the,app,and,finds,a,few,clubs, he’s,interested,in,,as,well,as,several,fraternities,he,thinks,might,be,a,good,fit,for,him., He,also,is,able,to,find,another,incoming,freshmen,within,his,major,that,he,shares, similar,interests,with.,After,using,the,apps,messaging,feature,to,reach,out,to,him,,they, end,up,deciding,to,be,roommates,in,the,coming,semester.,CampusConnect,gives,him, the,jumpstart,necessary,to,start,off,his,college,career,on,the,right,foot.,, This!application!will!be!a!free!resource!geared!specifically!towards!Purdue!students! that!they!can!download!via!the!App!Store.!Upon!download!they!will!be!prompted!to! create!a!brief!profile!for!themselves!where!they!will!have!the!option!to!input!their! ! 2! name,!major,!year,!interests,!hometown,!and!any!clubs!or!activities!they!are! currently!a!part!of!on!campus.!They!will!also!have!the!option!to!include!a!picture!if! they!so!choose.!Upon!completion!of!their!profile,!the!next!step!will!be!to!fill!out!a! short!questionnaire!about!what!they!are!looking!to!get!out!of!their!college! experience,!what!kind!of!activities!they!enjoy,!how!much!time!they!are!willing/able! to!commit,!and!answer!a!few!questions!about!their!personality!type.!The!goal!of!this! survey!is!to!match!the!student!up!with!a!selection!of!organizations!and!activities!on! campus!that!might!be!a!good!fit!for!them.!From!here!they!can!click!on!any!of!these! organizations!and!find!a!vast!amount!of!information!about!them,!including!meeting! times!and!locations,!as!well!as!contact!information!for!the!club!leaders.!Finally,!the! app!will!include!a!messaging!function!allowing!students!with!similar!interests!to! connect!with!one!another!upon!request.!! ! Marketing!Goals!and!Objectives! My!goal!is!to!convince!Purdue!students!that!they!need!CampusConnect!in!order!to! get!the!very!most!out!of!their!college!experience!and!ensure!they!don’t!miss!out!on! any!opportunities!available!here!on!campus.!! ! Aware:!I!will!make!students!aware!of!the!app!by!a!combination!of!traditional! and!new!marketing!tactics.!! ! Appeal:!I!will!appeal!to!my!audience!to!give!CampusConnect!a!try.!! ! Ask:!I!will!ask!club!leaders!here!on!campus!to!encourage!their!members!to! join!the!app.!! ! Act:!I!will!hold!promotional!events!and!utilize!social!media!to!advance!the! company’s!growth.!! ! Advocate:!I!will!motivate!users!to!encourage!their!friends!to!also!download! the!app.!! ! ! ! Strategy!and!Tactics! ! CampusConnect!will!use!a!combination!of!both!traditional!and!new!medial! marketing!techniques!to!reach!as!many!people!as!possible.!This!will!be!done!using! not!only!social!media!platforms!and!flyers,!but!also!through!word!of!mouth!and! hopefully!endorsement!from!Purdue!University!itself.!! ! Tagline:!CampusConnect:!Making!sure!you!get!the!most!out!of!your!college! experience.! ! ! Traditional!Marketing:! ! Flyers!will!be!put!into!new!student’s!acceptance!packets!and!all!around! campus,!including!in!the!dorms!and!in!some!lecture!halls!where!there!are!a! lot!of!freshmen!in!attendance.!! ! Flyers!will!be!handed!out!during!STAR!and!BGR!programs.! ! 3! ! A!brief!presentation!on!how!to!use!the!app!and!the!importance!of!social!life!in! ones!sustainability!at!college!could!be!given!during!BGR!week.!! ! As!a!promotional!event,!a!CampusConnect!booth!can!be!set!up!on!Memorial! Mall!that!will!give!out!free!snacks!and!flyers!to!passerby.!If!students!show! that!they!have!downloaded!the!app!to!their!phone,!they!will!receive!a!bigger! prize,!such!as!a!TTShirt,!small!giftTcard,!phone!case,!or!other!merchandise! with!the!CampusConnect’s!logo!on!it.!! ! When!the!app’s!user!base!grows!larger,!a!free!event!will!be!held!on!campus!for! users!of!the!app!to!meet!students!they!have!connected!with!virtually.! ! Club!leaders!of!campus!organizations!will!be!encouraged!to!instruct!their! members!to!join!CampusConnect!as!a!way!to!stay!up!to!date!on!club!activities.!! ! ! New!Media!Marketing!Tools!! ! Users!will!gain!points!through!the!app!by!doing!things!like!inviting!their! friends!to!join,!logging!in!daily,!increasing!their!virtual!connections,!and! liking/following!CampusConnect’s!social!media!platforms.!They!will!then!be! able!to!redeem!these!points!for!prizes,!such!as!free!food!from!local!vendors.! This!will!be!a!good!opportunity!for!the!company!to!partner!up!with!other! businesses!around!Purdue.!! ! To!make!earning!points!more!fun,!users!will!also!have!the!opportunity!to! increase!their!points!by!playing!games.!These!games!will!likely!be!centered! around!Purdue!University!trivia,!the!campus!history,!and!various!clubs!that! are!on!campus.!The!goal!of!this!is!to!further!inform!students!about!the! opportunities!available!to!them!on!campus.!! ! CampusConnect!will!utilize!as!many!social!media!platforms!as!possible,!but! particularly!Twitter,!Facebook,!and!Instagram.!Instagram!and!Twitter!both! have!the!ability!to!connect!to!Facebook!so!that!posts!on!those!apps!will! always!appear!on!Facebook!as!well.!That!way,!if!someone!misses!a!post!from! one!social!media!platform!they!will!have!multiple!opportunities!to!see!the! information.!An!example!of!a!post!on!Facebook!could!be!a!short!testimony! from!a!user!who!used!the!application!to!find!her!freshmen!year!roommate! and!is!now!close!friends!with!them.!In!other!words,!any!“success!stories”!that! might!motivate!others!to!download!the!app.!!! !! Measuring!Success!!! Due!to!the!virtual!nature!of!this!company!it!will!be!fairly!easy!to!measure!its! success!by!tracking!downloads!and!the!amount!of!returning!users.!In!addition,! users!will!have!the!opportunity!to!gain!points!on!the!app!if!they!write!a!review! or!fill!out!an!occasional!survey!discussing!what!they!feel!the!app!could!use!to!be! even!more!effective.!! ! Pricing!and!Positioning!Strategy! The!goal!is!to!sell!the!app!to!Purdue!and!have!it!be!a!free!resource!available!for! any!student!to!download.!However,!it!will!not!be!free!to!build!or!to!upkeep.! Based!upon!research!conducted!on!the!website,!How,Much,to,Make,an,App,!and! ! 4! the!capabilities!the!company!would!strive!to!provide!via!the!app,!we!would!need! approximately!$24,000!to!build!the!app!itself(How!much!does!it!cost!to!make!an! App).!The!company!would!then!require!additional!funds!to!employ!at!least!one! IT!person!to!make!sure!the!app!functions!properly,!and!to!troubleshoot!any! problems!as!needed.!! ! Ideally,!within!the!market!CampusConnect!will!be!viewed!as!the!best!resource! available!to!Purdue!students!to!virtually!connect!with!others!and!to!stay! informed!about!clubs!and!activities!on!campus.! ! Conclusion!! To!conclude,!the!goal!of!this!application!is!to!solve!the!need!of!further!student! inclusion!here!on!campus.!In!turn,!it!will!hopefully!increase!new!students’! sustainability!here!on!campus!by!helping!them!find!their!niche!and!make!an! easier!adjustment!to!college!life.!This!is!a!highly!important!topic,!as!studies!have! shown!that!students!who!are!actively!involved!on!campus!and!part!of!a! supportive!friend!group,!often!perform!better!academically.!It!is!my!hope!that!in! the!future,!Purdue!freshmen!will!feel!less!overwhelmed!and!more!at!home,!due! to!an!increase!in!inclusion!on!campus.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 5! Works!!Cited! ! ! “How!Much!Does!It!Cost!to!Make!an!App?”!How,Much,to,Make,an,App,!Crew.com,!! 2017,!howmuchtomakeanapp.com/.!! !