Dominican Republic - Fall 2015

The UA Center for Economic Development partnered with 10 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student to create a marketing campaign encouraging the people of the Dominican Republic to travel to the state of Alabama.  The student team conducted research on the Dominican Republic to identify the areas and attractions within the state that would align with and appeal to their culture.  In order for the UA Center for Economic Development to go to market equipped with the right tools, the student team developed materials to best communicate to the target market:

• Print brochure and postcard
• Website structure
• Specific hashtag for campaign use
• Social media strategy
• Promotional video

 
Before creating any materials, the student team completed extensive research on the people and culture of the Dominican Republic and delivered that insight to the client.  From here, students provided UA CED with a basic brochure and postcard to highlight the state while directing the audience to the website and social media.  As a part of the print material creation, students identified the best possible route for Dominican Republicans to make the most of their state visit.  This route was an itinerary that included travel accommodations and main attractions in four major cities throughout Alabama.  After creating the foundational print materials, the client was provided with a website structure dedicated to this campaign and a bank of content for use on social media.  Finally, the client received a promotional video to use online, further highlighting the attractions of Alabama.  With this robust set of materials, UA CED is now equipped to showcase our state to those of the Dominican Republic.

The Team

Matt Rufca
Alexa Tarassoli
Mary Harmon Tyson
Raul Leyva
Taylor Brock
Sami Papie

James Kelley
Braxton Kazan
Katie Borkowski
Hamilton Jordan
​Project Manager:
​Ryan Campbell

Click on image to view brochure.

Click on image to view postcard.

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Black Belt Community Foundation - Fall 2015

The Team - Jessica Snyder, Mary Margaret Doyle, Elyse Blitzer, Zach May, Dee Griffin, Colin Claybrook, Project Manager: Chloe Crozier

The Black Belt Community Foundation is an organization based out of Selma, Alabama. This organization works to transform the Black Belt region that spans across 18 counties through improvement initiatives. This project tasked 6 undergraduate students and 1 graduate student to partner with Felecia Lucky and create a structure for Black Belt Community Foundation to increase their potential donor base.  The student team recognized that Black Belt Community Foundation must first be equipped with the tools to approach new potential donors.  The tools required to be successful include:

• Website
• Print marketing materials
• Social media campaign
  
• Selling tools
• Donor prospect list with detailed contact information
  

Black Belt Community Foundation couldn’t approach new donors without improving their marketing materials.  The Foundation first received an upgraded website, a streamlined brochure, and a new Corporate Sponsorship Proposal, detailing information for potential donors.   Once supporting materials were complete, the team provided Felecia with selling tools in the form of an email template and phone calling script.  Finally, the Foundation received a list of potential donors with detailed contact information.  Before completing the Project, students prepared a social media strategy for Felecia and the Foundation to engage with their donors and volunteers, to continue fostering relationships.  Felecia and the Black Belt Community Foundation now has all the materials, knowledge, and tools necessary to call on potential donors.

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Marketing Materials - Brochure

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Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge - Fall 2015

The Landmark Project between students at the University of Alabama and the Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge was designed to provide the client, Pam Yadamec, with fully upgraded marketing materials to better engage with donors and volunteers, both existing and new.  To do this, the team identified the following needs for Pam:

• New print material package
• Incremental website improvements
• Social media presence
• Strategy for communicating with current donors and volunteers
• List of potential donors
• Selling tools for approaching new donors
• Restructured donor levels

The student team began with the Friends Group’s donor levels.  These were updated, based on research, to align with similar organizations.  Next was an update to their online presence.  Minor, aesthetic improvements were made to the website while the social media pages were completely revamped and ran by the student team.  Pam was then provided with all print materials necessary for donors and volunteers.  This included a new brochure, Friends of Bon Secour Fun Facts, and individual and corporate donor information pages.  Now that the content was consistent, professional, and informative, the team created a list of potential donors for Pam and the Friends Group, along with extensive selling tools including an email template and phone calling script.  Lastly, the students created an email account and e-newsletter template for the Friends Group to interact with their current volunteers and donors on a monthly basis.  Before wrapping up the Project, Pam was provided with all of these materials, plus a social media “how-to” kit to continue the team’s progress.

The Team - Michelle Manning, Samu Palone, Cameron Bice, Barrett Elder, Bing Li, Caroline Veillon, Lizzie Hogan, Trevor Barnhill, Billy Heberton, Todd Creekmore, Project Manager: Jordan Tucker.

Click on image to view presentation.