of Northeast Florida

1. of Northeast Florida Prestige PR Christina Wisz Brittany Mathis Karina Chowdhury Ryan Traher

2. Executive Summary The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida provides hope and opportunity for over 3,600 youth in the Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties. BGCNF are committed to providing quality afterschool programming every weekday to youth ages six to 18. The Clubs reside in areas with poverty, poor health outcomes, risky behaviors and school failure. Prestige PR intends launching a campaign titled “Dream Big,” which will run from January 2013 until May 2013. The tagline for the campaign is “Every boy and girl has a dream. Every dream has an inspiration.” Prestige PR believes that every child possesses a dream and with the right tools and resources, those dreams reach fruition. Prestige PR plans on using a combination of social media, news outlets and creative concepts in our campaign. We received a generous donation of $25,000 from an alumnus of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida that will fund the campaign. Our target audiences consist of current and past members of the clubs, companies that will help fund the organization’s activities, afterschool programs and summer camps, parents of the members and potential new members, volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 and lastly, the local community and media. After gathering primary and secondary research about our target audiences, Prestige PR proposes hosting a silent auction with some of the children's paintings from the BGCNF and all proceeds will directly benefit the clubs. Prestige PR also suggests hosting a miniature golf tournament and spirit nights at Tijuana Flatts and California Pizza Kitchen as well. The main four goals of our campaign will include increasing awareness, fundraising, participation and brand recognition. We plan on revamping the website and increasing likes and followers on Twitter and Facebook. We also plan on building relationships with the businesses in the local community and reaching out to Jacksonville high schools, colleges, universities and churches with volunteer opportunities. At the conclusion of our campaign, we will evaluate our successes with post campaign surveys, comparisons of social media likes and followers and focus groups.

3. Agency Name Founded in 2005, Prestige PR is a public relations firm located in Jacksonville, Fla. Prestige PR has a reputation of putting its clients first. The firm maintains a certified team of professionals who have worked with clients from Fortune 500 companies, as well as nonprofits. Some of our clients include Verizon Wireless, Jacksonville Jaguars, The Monique Burr Foundation, Publix and Best Buddies. Mission: Prestige PR promises the communication results you need to see your company or organization move in the direction you have always envisioned. Let us turn your dream into a reality.

4. Biographies Christina Wisz has a Bachelor of Science in communication from the University of North Florida with a concentration in public relations with a minor in Spanish. Christina received her APR certification after pursuing master’s degree in public relations and musical theatre at New York University. She worked as a PR professional for Epic Records and has recorded a single called “Shine.” • Brittany Mathis has received her master’s degree in communication from the University of Miami and serves as a sport agent for professional athletes. She works diligently with athletes and their contracts and makes sure everything flows smoothly. She also works with them for their appearances and legal issues.

5. Biographies Ryan Traher received his Bachelor of Science in communication with a concentration in public relations at the University of North Florida and a Master of Science in psychology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He obtained his APR certification a year ago and has worked with firms such as St. John and Partner’s. He has specific experience with journalism, photography and digital design. Karina Chowdhury is a PR agent at Dalton Agency. She graduated from the University of North Florida with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in public relations and a minor in psychology. At the Dalton Agency, she works on event planning for various companies, as well as working on press releases and social media.

6. Client Background The Boys and Girls Clubs was chartered on July 23, 1962. The clubs first opened in Jacksonville in 1966 at Liberty and 10th Streets. In 1988, the Boys Clubs became the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. There are now 14 locations in the Northeast Florida area. The Clubs provide after school care to children ages 6-18 in low income neighborhoods. The clubs establish in certain areas where there exists high risks for poverty, school failure, poor health outcomes and bad behavior. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida serves over 1,500 children at the 14 locations. Their mission is “to inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.”

7. Situation Analysis The Boys and Girls Clubs remains the nation’s most effective youth organization with a mission to inspire and enable young people. As one of several nonprofit organizations in the area, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida strives to separate itself from similar, youth-oriented, afterschool programming. An advantage of BGCNF is it focuses more on educational programming and incorporates activities around life skills. Due toBGCNF’s nonprofit status, it depends on copious amounts of outside funding to run its programs. The organization’s desires to increase brand recognition and partner with highly regarded organizations to increase its reputation. The BGCNF plans on utilizing social media such as Twitter, Facebookand YouTube to get its name out the public. Prestige PR is working with a $25,000 budget generously donated by an alumnus of the program to help the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida.

8. Secondary Research The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida worked for over 150 years, striving to build character and promote the development of building productive, positive futures. John Collins, the first Club professional, devised a series of systems of informal guidance plans to attract boys and capture their interest. The path that Collins took is still used today with proven results. The procedures constitute a “socially scientific system” that take boys off the street and helps them develop strong, productive futures. The Boys and Girls Clubs annually helps more than 4 million young people through community outreach. Every one of the 4,000+ clubs in the country is led by a trained youth development professional that work to motivate young people and give them an alternative place to hangout, besides home and school. The various clubs help to reinforce a sense of belonging to those who may feel out of place. It has been the number one organization for young people for 18 consecutive years. There are a number of well-known public figures that have volunteered their time for various Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the nation. Some of these famous faces include Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Sandler and Shaquille O’Neal. Funding comes from a variety of organizations around the nation. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America is recognized by some of the most leading corporations worldwide. Big name companies such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Comcast funded the Clubs with over $5 million each. Other companies like Staples, Toyota, Walmart, UPS, AT&T, Ross and Sony contributed generous donations to the Clubs as well. In Jacksonville, H&M contributed greatly to the success for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. It helped to equip the members with items they need to attend school and also donated a check for $2,500 for the Clubs to continue giving its members a fun and safe place to attend after school. The St. Augustine Independent Restaurant Association also donated to the Clubs recently.

9. Primary Research To spread awareness about the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida and all the good it does within the Jacksonville community, Prestige would like to conduct surveys before and after the campaign to measure its overall success. The questions we would ask before our Dream Big campaign would consist of: • Have you ever heard of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida? • Are you familiar with what BGCNF does? • Would you be willing to participate in fundraising events for BGCNF such as a silent auction or miniature golf tournament? • Would you be willing to like our Facebook page and follow us on twitter? • Would you be interested in volunteering with the organization?

10. SWOT Strengths The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida is a well established nonprofit organization with impressive relationships built that denote a trustworthy and respected reputation. The organization will hold its annual Steak and Steak Dinner and Auction on Nov. 13 with guest speaker Jackie Joyner-Kersee, a six-time Olympic gold medalist. It also has a good name in the Jacksonville area and it is relevant and relatable to a large population: those in need and those filled with compassion to see the potential in these children despite their socio-economic status. Lastly, it keeps children and young adults off the streets and away from threatening environments. What sets BGCNF apart from other afterschool programs is their life-skills focus, equipping students with the abilities necessary for success and thriving futures. Weaknesses The Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Florida faces a lack of volunteer effort to assist the organization with its programming. The Boys and Girls Clubs also have minimum press coverage with virtually no search results popping up in the news web search. Obtaining news coverage is imperative to remaining salient in the public’s perception. Lastly, the website lacks creativity and easy navigation. People would likely visit more frequently and stay on the website longer if it was easier on the eyes and the mouse.

11. SWOT Opportunities There exists a lot of room to grow in the social media realm for BGCNF. With just over 400 followers on the Facebook page and nearly 200 on the Twitter page, the opportunity to expand proves promising and potentially very beneficial, especially for the younger audiences it hopes to connect with. Additionally, although an internet search for BGCNF in the news produced few results, the website holds multiple links to various media attention over the last two years. This indicates a good relationship with the news to begin with and something the campaign can build off of and rely upon. Sharing those news stories through Facebook would lead to shares and further attention and interest. The Boys and Girls Clubs also maintains a blog through Blogspot; another great resource for sharing information. Connecting more people with this blog and writing inspiring stories and activities BGCNF conducts will motivate more concern and participation. Threats The Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Florida faces competition from other well-known nonprofit organizations. Also, simultaneous events could interfere with fundraisers and picking correct date and time is necessary to optimize commitment and involvement. Lastly, unstable or stressful home life and poor socio-economic environments constantly threaten the welfare of students attempting to advance in their educational and professional careers. A crisis could occur on the streets to one of the students in the midst of this campaign, derailing the progress made towards improving its reputation.

12. Campaign Strategy Prestige PR is working with the BGCNF to promote its nonprofit organization and all the good it does within the community. We plan to utilize social media, UNF Spinnaker, Florida Times Union, Jacksonville Business Journal, Folio Weekly and creative fundraising and research to create a campaign that will allow BGCNF to rise to new levels of success and outreach.

13. Objectives Informational Objective Awareness: Build partnerships with at least three new businesses by May 31. Motivational Objective Fundraising: Obtain 200 annual donors and increase income by 20 percent by May 31. Motivational Objective Participation: Increase volunteer base by 100 new members by May 31. Informational Objective Brand Recognition: Increase traffic to the website with 2,000 unique visitors by May 31.

14. Audience Analysis There are five main audiences that we are targeting in this campaign: • The current and past members of the clubs • Companies that will help fund our activities, after-school programs and summer camps • Parents of the members as well as parents of potential new members • Volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 • Local community and media Current and Past Members of BGCNF : The first target audience geared towards the current and past members of BGCNF. Reaching this audience is a crucial process in order to expand and increase our organization’s success. These members are between six and 18 years of age (approximately 19% of the population according to Demographics Now), thus ranging from elementary to high school. These schools will come from Duval (32250), St. Johns (32084) and Nassau (32034) counties. Also, we will be enhancing the image of our current locations within these areas. Companies and Corporations: The second target audience is companies and corporations that will help us to continue funding our various programs, events and activities. Our current sponsors in Duval and Nassau County have been a tremendous help in the overall growth of our organization. This will be our main target as it is an essential part of our growth as an organization as well as an integral part in helping us gain back our funding. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida is currently located in 32207 (Duval County), where the median income is around $63,000. Some of its current partnerships include the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation, Citi and United Way of Northeast Florida. Our goal is to extend beyond the current partnerships in order to raise funding and bring more attention to our organization

15. Audience Analysis Parents of the members The third target audience are the parents of the members. Parents are an significant influence in a child’s life and should always be assured that their children are receiving the best care in all aspects of their lives. Since a great number of these families come from low-income households (below $20,000), we will figure out a strategy that will appeal to both parents and corporations that will attract them towards our organization. A lot of these families are multicultural single parent families that have a high tendency to work for entry-level service positions. We feel that it is our responsibility to ensure that this high-stress environment does not impede on these students’ ability to accomplish their dreams and aspirations. Volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30 The fourth target audience will be volunteers between the ages of 18 and 30. Our main focus will come from Duval County. According to Demographics Now, approximately 28-30% of the population in Duval County is between that age range. Volunteers are necessary to help run our events and after-school activities. Local community and media The fifth and final target audience will be local community and media. Our goal is to get as many people as possible to know about BGCNF and put our name in the spotlight. This will allow us to network and build connections. Social media as well as various flyers, brochures, networking cards and press releases will be used to order to attain this goal. In addition, news outlets will be used to extend our organization’s name to various publics beyond our targets.

16. Creative Concepts Tagline: “Every boy and girl has a dream, every dream has an inspiration.” A 30 second PSA with lay testimonies of BGCNF students and parents will be displayed on YouTube and shown at our miniature golf tournament and silent auction. Wristbands and t-shirts displaying our tagline and campaign dates will be sold at all of the BGCNF Dream Big campaign events. Pamphlets and brochures will be distributed to Jacksonville businesses and will be passed out at campaign events. Yard signs and bumper stickers will be given out at events so people can show their support of BGCNF. Buttons will be given out to members of the Clubs to attract more students to BGCNF.

17. Communication Tactics Our first objective concerns awareness. We want to build partnerships with at least three new businesses by May 31. We plan on accomplishing this by: We will give flyers to business located in the St. John’s Town Center and other Jacksonville hot spots. We will give businesses incentives for sponsoring our campaign. If they donate $500, we will put their name on a banner that will be displayed at our fundraising events. If they donate $1,000, their names will be displayed on our banner and on the t-shirts that will be sold at fundraising events. If they donate $2,000, they will be invited to a reception dinner held at the Cheesecake Factory location in the St. Johns Town Center. We will organize “When I Grow Up” partnership events with businesses. This entails approaching entrepreneurs to hold demonstrations and tours at their businesses to give students a learning opportunity. Additionally, the trips will facilitate motivation in hard work and the fruits of labor. Alternative to field trips, the business owners could also come to the various clubs and give presentations on their career field and occupation. This partnership will benefit both parties and will inspire business owners to donate and invest in these students in the community.

18. Communication Tactics The second entails fundraising. We want to obtain 200 annual donors and increase income by 20 percent by May 31. We plan on accomplishing this by: We will host a silent auction at TPC Sawgrass. Students from BGCNF will make different types of artwork that will be auctioned off. Each piece of artwork will start at $50. All proceeds will directly benefit BGCNF. The club will serve refreshments and appetizers as well as an open bar will be available at the event. We will host a miniature golf tournament at Adventure Landing located in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. Students from BGCNF as well as their parents and members of the Jacksonville community can participate. There is a $20 entry fee per person and each participant will be entered in a raffle to win a free T-shirt and a $100 gift card to Angie’s subs. We will host a spirit nights at Tijuana Flatts and California Pizza Kitchen. Students from BGCNF will be there to greet guests, and 20 percent of sales will benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs.

19. Communication Tactics The third objective regards participation. We want to increase volunteer base by 100 new members by May 31. We will accomplish this by: We will reach out to student led organizations at UNF, JU and FSCJ with volunteer opportunities and create a club on each campus dedicated to BGCNF. We will reach out to high schools for volunteers to work with students ages 6-12. We will reach out to churches requesting volunteers to participate in the organization’s programs.

20. Communication Tactics The fourth objective addresses brand recognition. We want to increase traffic to the website with 5,000 unique visitors by May 31. We will accomplish this by: We will renovate the website. We will put our website link on all of the flyers, T-shirts and social media pages. We will build press releases for local media such as the UNF Spinnaker, Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Business Journal and Folio Weekly that will include the times and dates of our events as well as the link to our website.

21. Evaluation Prestige PR will conduct surveys half way through our Dream Big campaign in March. We will be passing out surveys at our events and conducting face to face interviews with people who attended our various events. Also, we will have guest lists at events for people to write down their contact info, including their name and phone number so they can be interviewed and sent a survey at the campaign’s conclusion. In May 2013, we will have a survey link available to fill out on our website, Facebook, and Twitter pages. We will compare the survey results from the primary research survey to the two surveys given in the middle and conclusion of our campaign. The questions for the post campaign survey would include: Which Boys and Girls Clubs fundraising event(s) did you attend? Are you now aware of what the Boys and Girls Clubs do? What was your favorite fundraising event? Do you think our new website is easier to navigate and use? We will be comparing the number of Facebook likes and Twitter followers before and after the Dream Big campaign. We also want to compare our website traffic before and after the campaign, in hopes our objective of having 5,000 unique visitors to our website was met. We will compare the number of BGCNF members before and after the Dream Big campaign, and compare the number of volunteers we have as well. We hope to supersede our objective of having 100 new volunteers by the conclusion of our campaign because the BGCNF is such a great nonprofit that benefits such a good cause. Lastly, we will conduct focus groups with the current and past members of the clubs, parents of students in BGCNF, and all of our volunteers. We would like to get their input on how they thought the campaign was executed, and if they thought there was anything that could be changed or done differently.

22. Timeline The Dream Big campaign will run from January 2013 to May 2013.

23. Budget Budget Total: $24,026