For the CUPID Studio client project, I had the opportunity to work with Elon University’s Writing Center along with Carolyn Koleszar and Lindsey Olsson. Elon University’s Writing Center is a well respected center by other collegiate associates, yet upperclass students often fail to utilize its resources. According to director Dr. Paula Rosinski, the Writing Center incessantly tries to dispel the myths that the Writing Center only serves first-year students, that strong writers don’t bring work into the Writing Center, and the Writing Center solely edits papers. Though Dr. Rosinski works hard to combat these myths, their looming presence just continues to cast a dark shadow over the Writing Center.
So for our client project, we worked to develop a marketing plan that dispels the myths. To be completely frank, we were initially at a loss for what to do. How do we create a marketing plan that meets all of our objectives and targets numerous publics at Elon University? How do we go about dispelling these myths? Originally, our ideas were jumbled, our direction was unclear, and we had many potential marketing plans, but no clear guide or a definite purpose. After many headaches and frustrated sighs, we decided to create a major marketing proposal that contained numerous strategies. In this proposal, we outlined numerous marketing initiatives that the Writing Center has the opportunity to implement over a period of time to create an enhanced awareness of its many resources.
The proposal discusses our marketing objectives, target markets, proposed implementation for new strategies, and the overall evaluation of the client project. To appeal to a large clientele, we suggested the Writing Center have a combination of witty, simple advertisements and advertisements with a social- media twist. In such advertisements, we highlighted the Writing Center’s capabilities that would especially attract upperclass students like senior theses, research papers, resumes, and graduate school applications. We also suggested the use of rack cards to go in the mailboxes of upperclass students. Finally, we made numerous suggestions for the possibility of a Facebook page and posts for frequent updates of the already existing Twitter account.
I am relieved that I had a group to work with on this client project. Though everyone has experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly group projects, I am happy to say this was a successful team building experience. Our dynamic was good from the get go and we sustained this until the project was completed. The constant flow of communication was a vital part to our success. We frequently emailed and texted each other, made use of Google Docs, and met outside of class often to work on the project as a team. We were also extremely respectful of each others’ opinions. For each deliverable we produced, we asked for our other group members’ opinions and suggestions before continuing.
The Writing Center client project taught me valuable skills that I will continue to implement in future professional settings. I now have a new insight on client projects and presentations. Hopefully, the Writing Center will garner a larger and more diverse clientele as a result of our efforts.
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