Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 13 - Specialty Item
License Tag Key Chains Support Rollins' Efforts to Save Specialty Tag
Jeni Hatter, Ann Marie Varga
Award of Distinction
Judges' Award
Research/Situation Analysis:
In 2005, Rollins College learned it was in danger of losing its
specialty license plate. The state of Florida announced it would
discontinue any tags that did not reach a total of 1,000 new and/or
renewal annual registrations by June 30, 2006. As of April 2005, there
were only 396 valid Rollins tag registrations. The Office of Public
Relations launched an advocacy campaign to save the Rollins tag. The
campaign was outlined in a Promotional Plan (see attachment 1) and the
target audiences would be Florida alumni, as well as current students,
faculty and staff at Rollins. To get the word out about the effort to
save the tag, the Office of Public Relations decided to have a
specialty item made that would remind people about the importance of
purchasing a Rollins license tag, while assisting with our messaging
efforts at the same time.
Objectives: Our objectives were to:
1) come up with a creative strategy to encourage people to purchase a Rollins license tag
2) save the plate by meeting the 1,000 mark by June 30, 2006
3)
make at least a $5,000 profit (proceeds benefit the Rollins Fund for
Students, which provides scholarships, funds, programs and services for
students)
4) secure at least one media story on the effort
Implementation:
After much research, it was decided that a Rollins license tag replica
key chain would be the most beneficial specialty item (see attachment
2). It was inscribed with the Rollins motto in Latin “FIAT LUX,” which
means “Let There Be Light” in Latin and is actually located in the
Rollins seal. On the back, the URL of the Web site with information
about the license tag campaign was included. To promote the plate,
1,000 key chains were distributed to Florida alumni and donors during
key college events. They were also used as a prize and incentive when
faculty, staff and students purchased the plate. They were distributed
with a tag entitled, “Get Tagged” (see attachment 3). This was done in
conjunction with a nine-month campaign, which included direct mail (two
postcards in a series), advertising in our alumni magazine, Web page
for all constituents (located at www.rollins.edu/tag - see attachment
4), as well as targeted messages to employees, students and alumni.
Evaluation: With regard to our original objectives:
1)
Given the positive feedback we received about the key chains, we feel
it was a successful item. The key chains were in high demand during
campus events and recipients said it was a great way to remind people
about the importance of supporting Rollins by purchasing a tag. In
addition, since people use and look at their key chains everyday, it
was a constant, subtle reminder of the College’s efforts to save the
tag.
2) In May 2006, we were notified that we had met the mark
with 1,001 Rollins specialty tags purchased (see attachment 5). We met
the goal six weeks early. Prior to our efforts, we averaged 40 plates a
month, so this was a considerable increase in a short period of time.
3)
Over a one-year span, the specialty tags brought in a $16,000 profit
(to the Rollins Fund for Students). This was more than triple our
original goal of $5,000.
4) In the process of communicating with
our various constituents, the media did several print and electronic
stories on our efforts (see attachments 6-11). We distributed a photo
opportunity on “Save the Rollins Tag Day,” (see attachment 12) which
resulted in coverage on two local television stations (including local
NBC affiliate WESH Channel 2 and Brighthouse Networks 24-hour station
Central Florida News 13), as well as local NPR affiliate WMFE 90.7FM.
When we reached the goal, we distributed a news release (see attachment
13), which resulted in coverage in the Orlando Sentinel and on Central
Florida News 13. According to PR TRAK, a news clip measurement program,
our nine stories garnered a publicity value of $46,345, circulation of
859,124 and 2,689,465 impressions (see attachment 14). This far
exceeded our original goal of one media story on the campaign and
helped spread the word and save the plate.
Budget: The key chains cost $2,250 for 1,000.
With the purchase of each specialty tag, the state of Florida returns
$25 to Rollins, so the cost of the campaign was not only recovered, but
we realized a profit of more than $16,000 (from June 1, 2005 to May 31,
2006). The return on the investment continues because annuals renewals
will bring in a projected $25,000 per year to the Rollins Fund for
Students. Name recognition and pride enhancements are immeasurable and
invaluable.