Final Buzzsaw Campaigns Book

1

VSA Tennessee

40 Days around the world : A dig ital arts fest ival

-Buzzsaw creative-

2

-Buzzsaw creative-Accoun

t Executive

pr and Research

Creative and Digital

Project Managem

ent

Amanda Broome Kennedy Voxe

Andrea brinkvp of

PR and Copywriting

Candice goodmanDirector of

Research and quality control

Emma KrummelVp of digital mediaand art director

Ashely basak

quality controlManager

Buzzsaw Creative

Danny Jones

Vp of financeand Project management

DesignerTravis Mcmilan

Copywriterjacob Williams

Traffic ControlManager

Torrie Tovar

3

-executive summary-

Dear Ms. Kissinger,

The members of Buzzsaw Creative would like to thank VSA Tennessee and Lori Kissinger for providing us the opportunity to promote such a phenomenal program. We all feel fortunate to support the global and cultural accomplishments of VSA Tennessee and the affiliates.

We designed the campaign for the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival to reach two main audiences. Internally, we targeted current sponsors, affiliates and associates of VSA Tennessee in order to spread awareness and effect a positive change in VSA Tennessee’s communication habits. Externally, we targeted the media, opinion leaders and unware publics that resembled the current active publics. We targeted these groups in order to accomplish our two campaign objectives. Our first objective was to build awareness among current audiences and to encourage their participation in promoting and celebrating the festival. The current audiences of VSA Tennessee were our first concern because they have been loyal to the cause of VSA and should be invited to celebrate the 40th anniversary. Our second objective was to enable VSA Tennessee to more effectively promote themselves. Our research revealed that VSA Tennessee’s current communication methods could be improved. We also recognized that the timeline of the 40 Days Festival was beyond the scope of the campaign, so building better communication habits during our campaign would ensure that the 40 Days Festival was optimally communicated beyond the conclusion of the campaign.

Our strategies reflected these objectives. We designed a visual suite and a social media consult book in order to aid VSA Tennessee’s future communications. We created press releases and pitch letters in order to inform current publics and to draw in other like-minded audiences. We also created a PR Strategy packet to encourage other VSA affiliates to promote the 40 Days Festival as well. We also made suggestions for future campaign ideas that could be implemented to further promote VSA Tennessee’s efforts.

Ultimately, the experience of working with VSA Tennessee has been eye-opening and rewarding. We appreciate the opportunity and all of the support that VSA Tennessee provided throughout the campaign.

Sincerely, Buzzsaw Creative

4

THE RESEARCH 6 Company History

9 SWOT

13 PEST

18 Brand Analysis

20 Market Analysis

24 Stakeholder Analysis

28 Competitive Analysis

30 Consumer Analysis

33 Survey

35 Focus Group Results

THE CAMPAIGN38 Brand Strategy and Design

42 Campaign Objectives

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

43 Social Media Consult

59 Digital Press Kit

68 Website Content

71 PR Suggestion Kit

78 Industry Event

80 Promotional Event

86 Political Event

88 Social Media Challenge

93 Printed Promotions

97 Partnership Suggestions

99 Bibliography

-Table of Contents-

5

The research

-Buzzsaw creative-

6

-Company History-

KENNEDY CONNECTIONS

The origins of the VSA begin with the President Kennedy and his sister Jean Kennedy. The arts were a very large part of the life in the White House during the Kennedy administration.1 On multiple occasions, JFK showed appreciated and supported artists and the arts publically. During the Kennedy administration, notable artists were invited to the White House on numerous occasions. Because he made time for art in his daily life and during public functions, JFK seemed to greatly respect and value art .2 A year before his unexpected death, JFK created a federal position to support the arts.3 As a tribute to JFK’s appreciation for the arts, Congress and the National Cultural Center collaborated to create the Kennedy Center which launched in 1971 four years after the assassination of JFK4. The Kennedy Center was only one example of the long-lasting effects of the Kennedys’ artistic legacy.

THE VSA

Only three years after the Kennedy Center’s was established in 1974, Jean Kennedy, sister of the late JFK, created the National Committee – Arts for the Handicapped. The name would be changed over ten years later to Very Special Arts which later would become VSA.5 Jean Kennedy was heartedly supported both artists and the disabled. Apart from starting an organization for both, she also wrote a book about both.6 She was such an advocate for these things likely because she was familiar with both the arts and disabil-ities on a personal level. As discussed above, her close family loved and supported the arts. Also, one of her sisters, Rose Marie Kennedy, was mentally retarded.7 Indeed the handicapped seemed to be a resonat-ing cord in the Kennedys’ hearts. Her sister, Eunice Kennedy started her own organization for the disabled as well called Special Olympics. In fact, it seems JFK wholeheartedly supported the arts, Eunice supported the disabled and Jean connected the two.

Jean Kennedy served on the board of the Kennedy Center for several years, yet her organization, the VSA, did not become officially associated with the Kennedy Center until 2008 with a formal affiliation. In 2011 the VSA finally merged with the Kennedy Center’s Office on Accessibility. The final merger happened for-

1 “Arts and Culture in the Kennedy White House.” - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015

2 “Arts and Culture in the Kennedy White House.” - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015 3 “Explore the Center.” Kennedy Center: History of the Living Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.4 “Explore the Center.” Kennedy Center: History of the Living Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.5 http://www.vsarts.org/education/vsa/contact_us.cfm6 “Jean Kennedy Smith, a Muse for the Disabled.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, Aug. 2001. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.7 “Jean Kennedy Smith, a Muse for the Disabled.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, Aug. 2001. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

7

ty-seven years after Jean Kennedy founded the VSA.8 By 2015, not only has the VSA grown internationally and nationally, but its affiliates also still carry out the vision of its founder regularly. This vision is “to pro-vide people of all ages living with disabilities the opportunity to learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts.”9 The organization does this through various programs that enable the disabled to produce art, such as arts education, professional development, cultural access, community engagement. A few examples of these activities include concerts, art galleries, community art projects and sewing classes. The organiza-tion and most of their events are open to all ages and artists of any medium – including dramatic, visual or literary.

Over the past forty years, the VSA has grown immensely, bringing this vision and these opportunities to 37 national affiliates and 51 national affiliates.10 Today, Jean Kennedy is still somewhat involved in her organi-zation though she has become less active as she has gotten older.

The past few years have brought a lot of changes and opportunities to VSA. Roughly a year ago, inter-national VSA affiliates were accepted on to the Affiliate Council which governs the VSA chapters spread across the nation and the globe. The council is made up of three officers, three committee members from stateside affiliates and four international members. Representatives from the Kennedy Center along with all ten members of the Council meet monthly to collaborate. For the first time ever, both international and national VSA affiliates are working together through this new consistent communication and collabo-ration. Previously, only a handful of affiliates even had regular communication with international affiliates. Not only are international and national affiliates communicating, but they are collaborating on projections and, through technology, enabling members of one VSA to work with and meet members of an affiliate thousands of miles away. 11

VSA IN TENNESSEE

The Tennessee chapter of VSA is a comparatively young affiliate as it was started in 2001. Other affiliates such as the Colorado and Georgia affiliates have been around from almost have a century.12 Despite being relatively new, the Tennessee affiliate is very active. The current leader, Lori Kissinger, is weekly promoting

8 “About VSA.” The Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/>9 “VSA.” Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.facebook.com/pages/VSA/>10 “VSA Affiliates Worldwide.” VSA. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/affiliates>11 “VSA Affiliates Worldwide.” VSA. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/affiliates/usa.cfm?state=con necticut>12 “VSA Affiliates Worldwide.” VSA. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/affiliates/usa.cfm?state=con necticut>

-Company History-

8

-Company History-

new events and opportunities on her Facebook page. Through regular classes, many special events and an exciting international festival VSA TN is accomplishing the vision of Jean Kennedy. These many opportuni-ties give members a plethora of ways to get involved with community, stay active in the arts and pursue future careers in the arts. VSA TN offers artist residencies and dance workshops. Members can join a dulcimer choir or could compete in a vocal contest to win a recording sessions. VSA TN also is passionate about art education. They offer webinars, guest lectures and uniquely made lesson plans as a means to teach kids and adults about the arts.13

13 “News | VSA Tennessee.” VSA Tennessee. VSA, Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015

9

-SWOT-

STRENGTHS-VSA Tennessee is an international organization. Therefore VSA can find interested publics locally through state affiliates, nationally through VSA as a whole entity, and internationally through internationally through affiliates around the world. In these ways, VSA can have both a broad and deep reach with both interpersonal and global media, sponsorship and advocacy opportunities.

VSA was founded by Jean Kennedy Smith and then, many years later, merged with the Kennedy Center. The Kennedys and the Kennedy Foundation are a powerful, well-recognized name that gives VSA an advan-tage over its competitors. Our primary research revealed that many people were interested in the con-nection that VSA has with the Kennedys.1 Having such strong ties with a family that is very well respected in the United States is a great asset to have. As our primary research revealed, these ties can affects VSA Tennessee specifically, because VSA Tennessee can leverage this connection in communicating value to potential sponsors.2 1 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)2 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)

STRENGTHS-International Reach -Associative recognition with the Kennedy name -Partnership with Middle Tennessee State University -Programs involve people of all age ranges -Target audiences include a network of interested parents and educators

WEAKNESSES-The letters ‘VSA’ do not stand for anything-VSA’s aware publics demographic is very small compared to its potential yet unaware publics -VSA Tennessee functions with limited resources and funding -Misperceptions of VSAs audience and purpose

OPPORTUNITIES-VSA has been building international partnerships-The 40 Days Festival is a marketing opportunity-VSA Tennessee has an established web presence thatcould be used to reach more potential publics

THREATS-VSA Tennessee has limited funding -International partnerships come with specific challenges -Other similar organizations stealing potential funds and partner-ships.

10

Because the director of the VSA Tennessee is an instructor at Middle Tennessee University the school has become a valuable resource and partner for VSA Tennessee. VSA Tennessee’s close ties with Middle Tennessee State University gives VSA Tennessee access to facilities and channels of communication and increased visibility for low or no cost to them.

One strength that VSA Tennessee possesses is the organization’s diversity regarding youth and adults of all ages. They can service a broader ranger of target markets and can garner a broader range of support. Ad-vocacy organizations and supporters of one niche market such as aiding the disabled in the school system may be just as likely to support VSA Tennessee as other organizations and individuals interested in support-ing the professional development of people with disabilities.

VSA Tennessee has strong connections with parents and educators because of their educational programs. VSA Tennessee is able to meet specific needs of these publics by providing lesson plans and educational opportunities and thus will foster mutually beneficial relationships. These two audiences are important because they make up the largest part of VSA Tennessee supporters.3 WEAKNESSES- One significant weakness that VSA Tennessee faces stems from the name VSA. Due to sensitive wording, the acronym for VSA was dropped in 2010, thus leaving the letters VSA to stand for nothing.4 This has created a problem with promoting the organization because people’s first question is almost always “what does VSA stand for” or people will assume VSA stands for a veterans organization.5

In our survey, focus group and our personal interviews, VSA was considered to be fairly unknown.1 We dis-covered that most people become aware of VSA Tennessee though related organizations or through per-sonal contact with the director Lori Kissinger. Word of Mouth or personal encounters with VSA Tennessee seems to be the primary way that VSA Tennessee is raising awareness. This is a threat to VSA Tennessee because they rely solely on funds from sponsors and the success of the missions depends on the involve-ment of their target publics. The pool of active participants will inevitably erode, and without the ability to grow, VSA Tennessee will face termination. Without more effective marketing channels, VSA Tennessee will not grow very fast. If any of the current sponsors or channels become unreliable for any reason, VSA 3 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results (Feb, 2015) and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)4 Kennedy Center. “Contact Us and FAQs.” VSA. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

5 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 2015.

-SWOT-

11

Tennessee may not be able to survive a significant loss of interest from current supporters.

Currently VSA Tennessee has limited resources and is entirely reliant on donations from sponsors.6 This is a threat to VSA Tennessee because sponsors may be effected by the economic strain following the re-cession or any number of personal hardships and resulting lack of donations may limit VSA Tennessee’s reach and potency.

We found in our focus group that latent publics may perceive VSA Tennessee as servicing only those with mental disabilities and not those with physical disabilities. This is a threat because this miscommu-nication may limit potential sponsorship from those who would otherwise be interested in supporting VSA Tennessee’s true mission.7

OPPORTUNITIES- One of VSA Tennessee’s strengths is also an opportunity. VSA Tennessee has many strong connections throughout the world which creates a large amount of opportunities for the brand to grow, locally and nationally. VSA has been capitalizing on this opportunity recently through the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival and it has met with tremendous success. VSA Tennessee has the opportunity to continue the connections that have been made through this festival and to foster mutually beneficial relationships around the world.

VSA has an enormous marketing opportunity through the 40 Days Festival. Many aspects of the festival can be pitched as an intriguing human interest story to the press. Affiliates could use the Festival as an opportunity to host events and to fundraise. VSA could make printed materials or other informational materials to bring awareness to The 40 Days Festival and, in doing so, bring awareness to VSA. This website and its intriguing content can be shared to many potential sponsors and potentially interested and parties and used as a hook, to spread awareness of VSA.

Both VSA and the Tennessee affiliate have a website and a social media presences. They could use these platforms to reach audiences. They have the opportunity to make minor improvements in their social media correspondence and website content to improve search enginge optimization and to gain more readership.

6 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 2015.7 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 2015.

-SWOT-

12

THREATS- Although there are many opportunities for VSA Tennessee’s brand to grow stronger, they will face challenges. One of VSA Tennessee’s greatest threats right now is their limited funding from sponsors. The limited funding has made reaching potential audiences particularly challenging.

Another challenge that VSA and VSA Tennessee face are cultural divides that make communication and sharing goals with international partnerships more difficult. For instance, many partnerships that VSA Tennessee has cross different time zones which create a problem when it comes to coordinating events.

Other similar organizations pose a threat to VSA because they have a strong brand image and reliable funding support already. The media and potential sponsors may choose to give their attention and support to more well recognized brands rather than to VSA Tennessee.

-SWOT-

13

-PEST-

POLITICAL - Another pressing political issue is the change in accessibility of education for those with disabilities. In 2010, the Department of Justice revised the American with Disabilities Act to include a section regarding the “Standards for Accessible Design.”1 This revision called for schools to have more amenities (such as wheelchair ramps) that enabled children with disabilities to more easily participate in school activities.1 This change could be seen as an opportunity or a threat to VSA Tennessee because of the different ways schools could respond to this mandate. Because schools are required to ensure that children with dis-abilities are given the opportunity “to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement,” schools may seek more lesson plans and educational opportunities that are designed to reach students with disabilities.2 If schools respond in this manner, VSA Tennessee will have 1 ADA.gov. “2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.” n.d. n.p. Web 26 April 2015 <http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_in

dex.htm. 2 Smith, T. E.C. Remedial And Special Education, 22.6 (335-343). 2001

POLITICAL-Change in accessibility of education for people with disabilities.

-The rise of advocates and a community that demand equity for

those with disabilities

-A history of misconduct and bad habits regarding the equitable

treatment of those with disabilities

-International mandates and political concerns

ECONOMICAL-The donors are recovering from the economic downturn

-VSA competes for funds

-The structure for fund raising for an international organization is

complex

SOCIAL-Society’s evolving concern regarding offensive vernacular

-VSA remains relatively unknown

-American culture tends to value physical activity over artistic

endeavors

TECHNOLOGICAL-VSA heavily relies on technology for communication through web-

sites, social media and email

-People with physical disabilities can access technology through

aids, and are a potent audience for electronic communication

14

a wonderful opportunity to supply the materials sought. Schools may respond in a more concerning way however, that could prove to be a threat to VSA Tennessee. The National Clearing House for Ed-ucational Facilities expresses that these mandates are seen “by many as a formidable endeavor.”3 For some schools, this mandate would require that they purchase expensive equipment and make costly structural changes. The time, effort and cost this mandate imposes on schools may potentially cause animosity toward any organization that is seen as an advocate of accessibility. VSA Tennessee should be aware of this possibility and have a plan to deal with this issue if it were to arise.

VSA Tennessee is not alone in these changes and challenges. One important aspect of the political landscape is the numerous advocates that have arisen to push and support legislation that would bet-ter the lives of people with disabilities. More parents, politicians, and advocate groups are standing up, speaking out and effecting changes.4 VSA Tennessee has received support from several politicians who encourage the efforts of VSA in forwarding accessibility. Many advocacy groups exist and many other organizations like VSA all support people with disabilities. The demand for social justice and equal op-portunities for people with disabilities is becoming harder and harder to ignore.3

Another potentially dangerous political factor involves the effects of the past political landscape. “His-torically, the educational experience of children with disabilities was characterized by neglect, inequity, and mistreatment.”5 Without adequate legislation, vocal advocates or proper amenities that enabled accessibility, students with disabilities simply were not afforded the same rights as other students. It is not possible to reverse the habits, social norms and personal feelings that have been shaped by the decades of neglect and misconduct simply through a legislative ruling. Therefore, VSA may find that some people are not as receptive to new accessibility measures.

VSA also has a host of other political issues, concerns and challenges that they now must be aware of because VSA is an international organization. VSA must take into consideration intercultural animosity and other countries’ legislation regarding accessibility and education when dealing with these nations. This affects VSA Tennessee specifically as well, because VSA Tennessee has been corresponding with other nations frequently for the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival. An exhaustive analysis of each country’s political landscape is beyond the scope of this present analysis, but it is imperative that members of VSA Tennessee and VSA educate themselves about potential challenges as they pro-3 Ansley, J. Creating Accessible Schools. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities at the National Institute of Building Sciences. 2000

4 Smith, T. E.C. Remedial And Special Education, 22.6 (335-343). 2001 5 Ansley, J. Creating Accessible Schools. Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities at the National Institute of Building Sciences. 2000

-PEST-

15

ceed with international correspondence. ECONOMIC- Externally, the unstable economy coupled with a competitive pool of funds has hindered the success of VSA Tennessee.6 The US is just now starting to recover from its most recent recession. Now that the US population is starting to get back on its feet and regain its lost expendable income, causes and charities, like VSA Tennessee, will have to fight to regain their foothold in the new and more prosperous market that is predicted to come.7 VSA Tennessee has always had to compete for donations with other similar organi-zations that are more well-known than themselves which will make placing that foothold for brand recog-nition and monetary donations harder to receive.8

Internally, having countries from all across the world participating in the programs can make funding com-plex as well. VSA doesn’t have a international or even national set structure for making donations. With-out that structure, VSA could confuse potential donors or could create an ineffective chaos in distributing and managing funds.9 SOCIAL- In today’s society, there are limitations on how those with disabilities are described. In mediated mes-sages, in personal conversations and in other areas of life, society is becoming much more aware of the potentially offensive language surrounding disabilities and is attempting to avoid all forms of offense. Advocates have been pushing for the use of new and less offensive phrases for several years. Blogger Laurie Stephans’ article in 2010 is a great example. In her article, she urges a change in communication saying “Using person first language in everyday life by people with disabilities can help”.10 What Stephans describes is a vernacular that advocates have recently been pushing called the “person first” approach. This approach involves phrases such as “a person with disabilities” rather than phrases such as “the dis-abled”.11 In 2010, VSA became of aware of this evolution in social vernacular and responded to this shift in cultural perceptions by changing their name from Very Special Arts to VSA.

6 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 2015 7 Weinberg, John. “The Great Recession & Its Aftermath - A Detailed Essay on an Important Event in the History of the Federal

Reserve.” n.p. 2013 Web 26 April 2015 <http://www.federalreservehistory.org/Events/DetailView/66> 8 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 20159 Kissinger, Lori. Interview. Buzzsaw Creative. January 201510 Stephens, Laurie. Changing perceptions and stereotypes around disabilities with “person first” language. 2010 Web 26 April 2015www.dailystrength.org.11 Stephens, Laurie. Changing perceptions and stereotypes around disabilities with “person first” language. 2010 Web 26 April 2015www.dailystrength.org.

-PEST-

16

The change in vernacular is a challenge for VSA Tennessee because they must word all messages with particular care. They have the challenge of connecting and building relationships with audiences while being careful not to offend someone or appear offensive. They must also find ways to stay up to date on the socially acceptable phrases, knowing how to properly address those with mental or physical disabilities.Titles that used to be common place - like the blind, the retarded or the disabled - are now inappropriate terms.12 Society recognizes now that these phrases foster the perception that someone with special needs is less of a person and not normal.13 If VSA miswords or is ignorant of the changing vernacular they could inadvertently send a very offensive message they never intended. Another social issue is that VSA and VSA Tennessee are relatively unknown while other organizations with similar goals are much more visible. The Special Olympics, a similar non-profit started around the same time, is very well known. VSA often gains less attention from the media while The Special Olympics has many followers on social media, has well-known and affluent sponsors and receives much media coverage. VSA’s visibility in these ways is significantly less. For instance, The Special Olympics has 697,869 followers while VSA has 1,092 followers currently.14 Our primary research also confirms that people often know about The Special Olympics, yet are often unfamiliar with VSA.15

One last social issue is that the general public favors events that promote physical activity over art relat-ed work. This is due to the cultural drive to promote health and physical activity which is a big concern in America over perusing artistic endeavors.16 Technological- Technology plays a large role in how VSA Tennessee operates. The organization communicates their image to their audiences very frequently through the use of technology. VSA Tennessee operates the website vsatn.org which is intended to inform people on what exactly VSA Tennessee is, what they do and how to get involved.17 They also employ the use of email newsletters to communicate with their audiences.4 Similarly, social media plays a huge role in how VSA Tennessee connects with people and

12 Stephens, Laurie. Changing perceptions and stereotypes around disabilities with “person first” language. 2010 Web 26 April 2015www.dailystrength.org.13 Stephens, Laurie. Changing perceptions and stereotypes around disabilities with “person first” language. 2010 Web 26 April 2015www.dailystrength.org.14 “Special Olympics.” Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.15 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)16 “CDC: 80 Percent of American Adults Don’t Get Recommended Exercise.”CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.17 VSA Tennessee. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. <http://vsatn.org/>.

-PEST-

17

groups across the globe. In particular, Facebook allows VSA Tennessee to regularly communicate with their affiliates and followers. The VSA Tennessee Facebook page informs people about upcoming events and activities.18

People with disabilities use technologies such as social media in their everyday lives just as frequently as people without disabilities do. According to Disability.Blog, the official blog of Disability.Gov, states that “Social media can be an effective way for anyone to socialize and network for a career, but can be es-pecially powerful for people with disabilities.”19 However, one fallback of technology, specifically social media, is that it can be quite challenging to create materials that are accessible to those who are visually and hearing impaired. This could potentially pose a threat for VSA Tennessee, especially since it is an orga-nization that caters specifically to people with disabilities.

18 VSA Tennessee.”Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. 19 Totka, Megan. “Social Media, Disabilities, and You.” Disability.Blog. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

-PEST-

18

-brand analysis-

A brand image is essentially the way people perceive an organization or business. VSA Tennessee, just like any other organization, has its own unique brand image that differentiates it from other organizations. Buzzsaw Creative conducted a focus group to determine how people perceive VSA Tennessee’s brand image. The focus group revealed that many people view VSA Tennessee as the “artsy” version of The Spe-cial Olympics which is a similar organization that was started around the same time as VSA, and that VSA deals more with mental disabilities than physical disabilities. The participants of the focus group seemed to like the many events and programs that VSA Tennessee offers; however, both the survey we conducted and the focus group revealed that general awareness of VSA Tennessee and VSA International is very low. Awareness of VSA Tennessee is even low within the organization’s target audiences, including educators and parents of people with disabilities.1

People’s perceptions of VSA Tennessee have been established through the way VSA projects itself to its audience. VSA’s mission statement, according to their Facebook page, is to provide “opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in and express themselves through the arts and arts education.”2 Through this mission statement, VSA is attempting to present itself to active and aware publics as an or-ganization that provides the following things: lesson plans for educators, materials to promote awareness for arts in disabilities, opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in and learn about the arts, and methods for people with disabilities to achieve a higher level of social acceptance and new levels of personal accomplishments.3

The public’s perception of VSA Tennessee’s brand identity is also formed through the use of visuals such as their website, social media profiles, logos, flyers, and newsletters. VSA Tennessee’s social media posts and flyers are most often created for the purpose of letting their audiences know about events. These posts and visuals are usually not visually consistent, with the exception of displaying the VSA Tennessee logo. VSA Tennessee’s visuals are most likely made by several different people, such as interns, and don’t seem to follow any specific formula. VSA Tennessee only has four main channels for distributing these visuals. VSA Tennessee uses direct mail, a subscription based newsletter, the homepage of their website, and their Facebook page to distribute visuals. On each of these channels, VSA Tennessee frequently publishes infor-mation about upcoming events and posts pictures of these events and of artwork created by VSA mem-bers. These publications and emails lack consistent visual identity. Despite the lack of consistency, it seems

1 Buzzsaw Creative Survey and Focus Group Results2 Kissinger, Lori. “VSA Arts Tennessee.” VSA Arts Tennessee Non-Profit Organization. Facebook, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <https://www.facebook.com/vsatn/>.3 Kissinger, Lori. “VSA Arts Tennessee.” VSA Arts Tennessee Non-Profit Organization. Facebook, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <https://www.facebook.com/vsatn/>.

19

as if these channels are effective at communicating to the target audiences. The people that currently support VSA Tennessee most likely don’t care about the inconsistencies. However, these inconsistencies might make VSA Tennessee appear unprofessional to prospective supporters.

According to survey results, few people were aware of VSA Tennessee.4 Those that were aware were also aware of VSA’s main competitor, the Special Olympics. This organization uses many of the same channels of brand communication that VSA employs, however it seems that more people are aware of the Special Olympics. VSA Tennessee uses their Twitter account very poorly compared to the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics Facebook page seems much more professional as well and more effectively projects their brand identity.

VSA Tennessee seems to be having some success communicating its message and values through the channels that it is currently using. However, these current channels are only effective at communicating their brand to active publics. The survey and focus group results show that few people have even heard of VSA, and even fewer are aware that it is an international organization. Those that have actually worked with VSA or know someone who has think that VSA is doing great things for people with disabilities.5 In essence, VSA Tennessee’s brand is not being communicated in a fashion that will attract new supporters, but they are doing a decent job at reaching current supporters.

4 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results (Feb, 2015) and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)5 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results (Feb, 2015) and Focus Group Results (Feb, 2015)

-brand analysis-

20

-market analysis-

PERCEPTION OF THOSE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE US

One of the most integral stakeholders for VSA Tennessee is people with disabilities. Other important target markets include instructors, supporters and those related to people with disabilities. Therefore society’s perceptions of people with disabilities is important to VSA Tennessee. According to the United States Census website, “[d]uring the past 40 years, the accepted definitions of disability have been chang-ing alongside shifting attitudes and perceptions about people with disabilities.”1 General perception of people with disabilities in the United States has changed drastically over the past few decades - even the definition of disability has changed. In the past, people were considered disabled simply due to a physical or mental condition. In the U.S. today, “the social model of disability supports a definition as the result of a complex interaction between a person and his or her environment.”2 Essentially, this means that peo-ple are no longer considered disabled just because they have leg paralysis or some other type of physical condition. Instead, people are considered disabled “due to their physical impairment as well as the barriers in the environment that prevent full social participation.”3 It seems that the modern definition of disability has become much more broad and encompassing.

Similarly, programs for people with disabilities have changed their goals. In the past, programs for the disabled primarily attempted to give support to the disabled through benefits such as financial help and income substitutes. Today, most programs aim to help the disabled by encouraging independence and supporting involvement society.4 This is similar to VSA’s mission to involve people with disabilities in soci-ety through the arts.

Perception of people with disabilities in the media seems to be less progressive than the general percep-tion of the public. A 2005 study by the Special Olympics shows that the current trend in media is to display people with disabilities as vulnerable and weak victims. The study states the following:

Despite greater scientific knowledge, policy and societal changes, and the establishment of high-profile events such as the Special Olympics World Games, media accounts have continued to portray persons with intellectual disabilities in stereotypical, one-dimensional ways. Often,

1 “About Disability Statistics.” Disability. United States Census Bureau, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.census.gov/people/disability/about/>.2 “About Disability Statistics.” Disability. United States Census Bureau, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.census.gov/people/disability/about/>.3 “About Disability Statistics.” Disability. United States Census Bureau, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.census.gov/people/disability/about/>.4 “About Disability Statistics.” Disability. United States Census Bureau, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.census.gov/people/disability/about/>.

21

characters with intellectual disabilities were nearly “invisible” presences (not complex), even if they were the main characters.5

The media obviously has the power to shape public opinions, so this could prove to be dangerous for so-ciety’s ever-evolving perceptions of people with disabilities. As the study puts it, “[a]ccording to the 2003 Multinational Study of Attitudes toward Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, more than 80 percent of the U.S. adults surveyed felt that media portrayals were an obstacle to the acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.”6 For VSA Tennessee and similar organizations that support people with disabilities, this means that there is still a lot to overcome.

5 Media’s Portrayal of People with Intellectual Disabilities.” Changing Attitudes Changing the World (2005): n. pag. Special Olym-pics. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.6 Media’s Portrayal of People with Intellectual Disabilities.” Changing Attitudes Changing the World (2005): n. pag. Special Olym-pics. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.

-market analysis-

22

PERCEPTION OF THOSE WITH DISABILITIES IN TENNESSEE

In Tennessee, there are a plethora of different affiliations that care for those with disabilities. The follow-ing section is a breakdown of that market and the services offered by these organizations. According to the Tennessee Disability Pathfinder website subjects that affect people with disabilities and those orga-nizations that help them “are wide-ranging and include Advocacy and Law, Child Care, Education, Health Care, Respite Care.”1 Organizations and websites exist that can help both the people with disabilities and organizations like VSA Tennessee navigate these topics. For instance, Tennessee Disability Pathfinder web-site can help those looking for information in disability services.2

An institution that assists those with disabilities in Tennessee is the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. It is locat-ed at Vanderbilt university and “is one of fourteen National Developmental Disabilities Research Centers supported in part by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.”3 It also provides research, services and other information that may be needed. The vast reach of this center, the services and research could be an asset to organizations like VSA Tennessee.

The Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities at the University of Memphis “promotes, supports, and enhances the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of individuals with disabilities and their families in the community.”4 The Boling Center was first established by the University of Tennessee in 1957 as the clinic for mentally ill children at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital .5 The Boling Center is locat-ed at a major university in Tennessee, and VSA Tennessee, and the Kennedy Center are associated with universities. This trend in university association is important because universities tend to have a great impact on their communities.

A state organization that assists those with disabilities is the Tennessee Council on Developmental Dis-abilities. It “works to ensure public policies that increase and support the inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities in their communities.”6 “Four statewide organizations in Tennessee, includ-1 “Children with Disabilities.” Tennessee Resources for Children with Disabilities. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/woyc/childdisabilities.html>.2 “About Tennessee Disability Pathfinder.” About Tennessee Disability Pathfinder. Tennessee Disability Pathfinder, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pathfinder/page.aspx?id=2119>3 “Children with Disabilities.” Tennessee Resources for Children with Disabilities. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/woyc/childdisabilities.html>.4 “Children with Disabilities.” Tennessee Resources for Children with Disabilities. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/woyc/childdisabilities.html>.5 “Children with Disabilities.” Tennessee Resources for Children with Disabilities. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://vkc.mc.vanderbilt.edu/woyc/childdisabilities.html>.6 “Tennessee Council on Developmental DisabilitiesWanda Willis, Executive Director.” General Information about the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. Council on Developmental Disabilities, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.state.tn.us/cdd/about.

-market analysis-

23

ing the Council, partner with one another and with individuals with developmental disabilities and their family members to ensure that they receive the services and supports they need and jointly they take part in planning those services.” Others included in the Developmental Disabilities network are the Disability Law & Advocacy Center of Tennessee (DLAC) and two University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDDs). The DLAC “advocates for the rights of Tennesseans with disabilities to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to be productive and respected members of our society.”7 The UCEDD includes 64 centers across the country covering every state and “supports inter-disciplinary training, exemplary services, research, and dissemination of information. This network is coor-dinated by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.” The Boling Center and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center make Tennessee one of the few states with two Centers for Excellence.8

The abundance of organizations that have similar missions as VSA Tennessee, could foster a rich environ-ment of social acceptance and could lower the risk of social apathy or ignorance. In this saturated market, VSA Tennessee has opportunities to establish partnerships or to share knowledge with these similar orga-nizations. Knowing that Tennessee is a rare state with two Centers for Excellence can provide insight into how much it is affiliated and connected to those with disabilities. Knowing the breakdown and analysis of the market VSA is in can help guide decision makers within VSA Tennessee to improvement.

shtml>.7 “Tennessee Council on Developmental DisabilitiesWanda Willis, Executive Director.” General Information about the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. Council on Developmental Disabilities, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.state.tn.us/cdd/about.shtml>.8 “Tennessee Council on Developmental DisabilitiesWanda Willis, Executive Director.” General Information about the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities. Council on Developmental Disabilities, n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.state.tn.us/cdd/about.shtml>.

-market analysis-

24

-STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS-

VSA Tennessee has many various types of stakeholders. From individuals to multinational organizations, VSA Tennessee’s supporters, members and administrators are very diverse. The ways in which they com-municate with VSA Tennessee, the types of involvement and their level of impact are each unique. Below we have provided a list of these stakeholders based on their level of involvement with the organization and have given a brief overview of how the stakeholders in each tier affect VSA Tennessee.

Due to the fact that the VSA Tennessee mailing list was unavailable, social media connections became the base for identifying the stakeholders. A review of VSA Tennessee’s Twitter followers reveals that VSA Ten-nessee is connected with small and non-profit organizations. The majority of these are small organizations that are attuned to the arts, charity opportunities and helping the disabled. A single administrator may run some of these organizations, while others have an international reach, yet none are very large. Fur-thermore, a review of Facebook interactions reveals a very similar demographic. Although, on Facebook, a few more demographics are present as interactions are more personal. Representatives of organizations and independently interested educators use Facebook to directly monitor and support VSA Tennessee.

HIGH IMPACT

The high impact stakeholders are each unique and each uniquely contribute to the success of VSA Ten-nessee. Moreover each is uniquely motivated. Most of these are leaders within the non-profit sector for example: the Affiliate Council members, members of the Kennedy Center, and administrators within VSA Tennessee. For these leaders, dealing with non-profits, arts and/or people with disabilities are part of their occupational configuration. Others in this group are students who are employed by the VSA Tennes-see. The students are semi-skilled, future professionals who are able to aid the VSA in various tasks and projects. These students are often motivated by grades or scholarships. Between these two, the high impact stakeholders are simultaneously volatile and dependable, skilled yet rarely paid. (VSA Tennessee deals with these entities on regular and frequent basis. They have an immense influence on the direction and activities of the organization)• The members with disabilities of VSA • The Affiliate Council • The Kennedy Center• Lori Kissinger• Interns

25

• Leaders of regular lessons/activities -Sarah McWhirt directs the VSA Tennessee/Blair Dulcimer Choir -Danielle Clement directs the Movement Connection dance class• Volunteering classes: (Web design class, PR/Ad class, ORCO Class) -The ORCO class has been integral in organizing the logistics of several events

MEDIUM IMPACT

Among the medium impact group are businesses, institutions and organizations. These entities seem to have enough resources and motivation in order to establish a long-term relationship. For the two edu-cational institutions, the motivation is simply the connections that VSA has with these organizations. For example, the leader of VSA, Lori Kissinger, is a lecturer at Middle Tennessee State University. For other or-ganizations, the motivation may be more altruistic or it may be similar to the motivations described in the following paragraph. For the VSA affiliates, obviously they are inherently connected with VSA Tennessee by their shared name and aims. In all situations, the partnering entities receive benefits from partnering with VSA Tennessee. For instance, MTSU gains foot-traffic and public relations/social clout. The other VSA affiliates could receive and give aid in achieving mutual aims.

(VSA Tennessee deals with these entities less frequently or regularly, and they have less impact on the organization’s future)• Partnering businesses -FedEx• Partnering cultural/educational organizations -Vanderbilt (houses the dance class regularly) -MTSU• Partnering organizations for the disabled • Other VSA affiliates• Student Ambassadors

LOW IMPACT

Many of the organizations and individuals listed below are auxiliary entities – they do not represent the


26

core support or management functions of VSA Tennessee, and they are not long-time or frequent contrib-utors. Individually, each entity does not contribute so frequently and so immensely that VSA would not be able to function without them. However, as a whole, this group is invaluable to VSA. Without the many different auxiliary entities VSA Tennessee would never be to accomplish all they accomplish. VSA has a plethora of supporters. These organizations or individuals may only partner once or twice with VSA, but they give VSA exactly what the organization needs when they need it. A large majority of what VSA does hinges on these events, therefore, as a group these auxiliary supporters are invaluable.

(VSA Tennessee rarely deals with these entities. They currently do not have much effect on the activities or future of VSA)• Organizations and entities who are interested in partnering or aiding in the future -The State Department• Organizations and entities that have contributed or partnered in the past. -Celebrity: Josh Turner, Gov. Haslam, Les Kerr and Chip Staley and a TBA CMA award win ner, Congressman Diane and Dr. David Black. -Cultural Organizations: Hendersonville Arts Council housed an art exhibit. Hillwood Pres byterian Church in Nashville hosting spring break camp. -Businesses: Clay Lady Studio, Nashville Lexus Dealership, Affinion, First Tennessee Founda tion, Publix Supermarket Charities -Educational organizations: Toler and Thornton Cline and their students provided music for an art exhibit. -Other: 100 artists donated cups for Cups-of-Co., Nashville Predators Foundation, Spring break camp is being led by Christine Mather (and other volunteer teachers) Tennessee Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, The Memorial Foundation• Potential Members or Interest: Advertising and events could spark potential interest and gain new followers to the VSA Tennessee family. • Educators who need lesson plans• Jean Kennedy: Although Jean Kennedy was the founder of the organization; her level of regular involvement with VSA Tennessee is low.

A limited collaboration with VSA Tennessee offers these organizations or entities such benefits as a politi-cal advantage or social/public relation’s impact, tax write-offs, or the momentary relief from federal pres-sure, which encourages organizations to aid the disabled. Of course, these motivators are likely not the


27

only reason that VSA Tennessee receives help from these low-impact supporters. Surely, each person and organization has individual motivators. Moreover, each of the different supporters is unique. Many are small local businesses. Some are celebrities or nationally recognized organizations. (See above bulleted lists for examples.) Therefore, they each have unique demographics. The types of collaborations that these organizations or individuals might have with VSA are also unique. Some may support with money. Others show support by allowing VSA to use their facilities. The variety of support opportunities vary based on the needs of the particular event that organization is aiding with. Although the stakeholders may have different incentives and levels of commitment, it is necessary to consider each of them when thinking about how VSA Tennessee operates. Even if some do not have a high impact, the stakeholders still can be very essential to the success or fail of VSA Tennessee’s events, proj-ects and other programs it creates. Each stakeholder has its own unique attributes that give VSA Tennessee better opportunities.

BibliographyInformation gathered from Lori Kissinger Director of VSA TENNESSEE, https://www.facebook.com/vsatn/timeline, and https://twitter.com/VSATennessee


28

-competitive analysis-

Competition for VSA includes the Special Olympics, The American Association of People with Disabilities, and The ARC. The main difference in VSA compared to these three organizations is that VSA does not have as broad of an audience, which does not make it as strong of a brand name.1 The competition has a stron-ger brand image than the VSA for that reason.

Another factor that differentiates VSA from the competition is the lack of a “donate” page on their web-site. The three competitors have a direct link on their websites so people who visit can donate instantly. Although the VSA Tennessee chapter does have a link on the side, it is not apparent at first glance that you can click the image to donate. This gives the competition an advantage over VSA Tennessee because VSA does not discuss donating on their website which may lead people to think they do not accept donations.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS: The Special Olympics was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who is also a member of the Kennedy family. However, the Special Olympics is different in the fact that it focuses on helping youth and adults with disabilities have an opportunity to experience life through sports training and competition. This or-ganization has gained a lot more attention than VSA, which was founded by a Kennedy and has the same purpose but accomplishes this mission through the arts. In Tennessee alone, the Special Olympics offer 17 sports for athletes to compete in. The Special Olympics also focuses on the healthy athletes program and the athlete leadership programs so they have the chance to learn and become public speakers or coaches.

The Special Olympics has a strong following particularly because a sport is something people can watch to show their support for their country or state. Bill Mitchell states, “…sports has earned its strong and defining place in the community. And it looks as if they’ve concluded that the arts, while still warranting coverage, are clearly more marginal, attracting an influential but narrow segment of the community.”2 It can also be noted that sporting events have a strong impact on communities. Because of the high volume of viewers and participants that sports receive it is likely that the Special Olympics receive more donations because it attracts a larger market. In 2013 the Special Olympics raised $118, 335, 656 dollars3 , which illustrates the success of the program.

THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (AAPD): 1 Buzzsaw Creative Survey Results (Feb.2015) and Focus Group Results (Feb. 2015)2 Lavin, Chris. “Why Arts Coverage Should Be More Like Sports.” Poytner.org. N.p., 2002. Web.3 The Speical Olympics. Special Olympics Annual Report 2013 (2013): 1-24. The Special Olympics. Web. <http://media.specialolym pics.org/resources/reports/>

29

According to AAPD’s mission on their website, they are the nation’s largest disability rights organization. They focus on creating an equal quality of life for people with disabilities.4 The AAPD is devoted to creat-ing equal opportunities on a grand scale for people with disabilities.

The AAPD reaches people in workplaces, education, health, and internationally. They also have national partners to support their programs, which gives them an advantage with high volume audiences. Their partners include CBS, Time Warner, Johnson & Johnson, Comcast, and AT&T. These strong partnerships expose the AAPD to a more broad audience as well as establish more credibility in communities.5

THE ARC: The Arc focuses on the intellectual and developmental disabilities and maintaining education and work rights for people with disabilities. They are a very established brand with 60 years of history in the United States. The Arc also provides support for families that have children with intellectual disabilities. One of their programs is the School-to-Community Transition Initiative created in 2009 to create a smooth tran-sition from high school to early adulthood. This has enhanced community involvement at more than 50 chapters. In 2013, AT&T joined the initiative so The Arc could maintain the program and their commitment to the community. 6

The Arc has an array of other national partnerships with brands such as Comcast, Wal-Mart, Verizon Foun-dation, Volkswagen Group, and MetLife+. According to The Arc’s 2013 Annual Report, they received a total of $731, 453 in contributions in 2013. 7

4 “AAPD Mission.” AAPD Mission. AAPD, 2012. Web. <http://www.aapd.com/what-powers-us/aapd-mission.html>5 “Our National Partners.” Our National Partners. The American Association of People with Disabilities, 2012. Web. <http://www.aapd.com/what-powers-us/our-partners.html>6 “The ARC 2013 Annual Report.” The ARC, 2013. Web. <http://www.thearc.org/document.doc?id=4868>7 “The ARC 2013 Annual Report.” The ARC, 2013. Web. <http://www.thearc.org/document.doc?id=4868>

-competitive analysis-

30

-consumer analysis-

The Buzz Saw Creative team conducted interviews with supporters of VSA Tennessee. We found that this audience is typically made of individuals that are leading organizations. An analysis of VSA Tennessee’s social media followers revealed the same audience description. The interviews we conducted revealed what motivates these organization leaders to support VSA. We asked them how they became involved with VSA, one interviewee could not remember because she had been involved for so long. Another sup-porter became involved when he took her position at her current job because that organization has had a long history with VSA Tennessee. When asked what motivates them to support VSA, one of the supporters stated that she is with the Department of Education in charge of the children and support services, which funds VSA contractually. Other interviewees said that they were also in contracts with VSA and wanted to continue supporting because they enjoy giving back to the community.

We asked these organizations how they have supported VSA; this question was addressed by answers like giving donations, serving on the board, helping with events, and providing funding. When asked how they supported other organizations, they provided the same information, like donations and helping with events.

We addressed the question of if they see themselves continuing to help with VSA in the future. They all answered that they would continue supporting VSA in the same fashion as they have been.

Our next question was “what other organizations do you support?” The interviewees mainly supported personal organizations such as their church, and other organizations dealing with disabilities like United Cerebral Palsy.

When asked how they stay connected with VSA, it was mentioned that it was either through the VSA board or through Lori’s emails.

Our final interview question asked, “What could VSA Tennessee give to you to make you excited?” The respondents’ answers revealed that they were already excited about VSA Tennessee and could only desire the future success of VSA Tennessee.

PRIZM RESEARCHThe following data has been constructed from PRIZM reports conducted with organization supporters of VSA in regards to our target audience’s lifestyles and motivations. Our research indicates through PRIZM

31

that our target audience is generally an employed professional with a collegiate level education. PRIZM also revealed their preferences in shopping, technology usage, media, activities and other useful informa-tion to better understand our target audience.

According to the PRIZM reports, members of VSA Tennessee’s target audience are members of social net-works, and use the Internet and mobile devices for media and entertainment purposes. Also according to PRIZM, our target audience is avid mobile device users. They use the Internet for media consumption and online shopping. They are users of digital media as well as traditional. PRIZM states they are most likely to make their purchases at Sears, Kmart and Home Depot. 1

ORGANIZATION LIFESTYLE AND MOTIVATIONThe vast majority of organizations make charitable donations. There are certain principles that motivate these organizations to give and become involved charitable donations.Many organizations look to gaining tradeoffs when contributing. According to Unite For Sight, “aligning personal interests with the aims of different organizations, donors will more likely give to organizations that hold shared ideals and values.”2 If an organization shares a common value with you, they are more likely to choose to donate to you, therefore common relationships can be vital. Organizations seek to give back to the community. “80% of organizations choose to donate to give back to the community.” 3 One of the most common motivators for organizations is the opportunity to gain satisfaction and happi-ness. Giving back and making an impact on others gives organizations a sense of gratification, while also creating a wholesome image for the organization. Public image is a major motivator for organizations to donate. A positive image helps ensure an organi-zation’s accountability and credibility among community members and other publics. For these reasons, organizations find having a social conscientiousness important.4

MOTIVATION AND LIFESTYLE CONCLUSIONWith the research that we have conducted through PRIZM and interviews, we have found that these or-ganizations are very enthusiastic to be part of VSA’s mission. They like to support VSA Tennessee through personal involvement and though donations from their organizations. They seem to appreciate having the

1 Nielsen 2014; Murfreesboro, TN2 “Unite For Sight.” The Motivation for Giving. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.3 “Understanding Donor Psychology: Motivations and Barriers to Charitable Giving.” Understanding Donor Psychology: Motiva-tions and Barriers to Charitable Giving. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.4 “Mensa Education and Research Foundation.” Why Do People Make Charitable Donations? -. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

-consumer analysis-

32

ability to support an effort they believe in.

-consumer analysis-

33

This survey was created to quantify the audience awareness and perception of VSA Tennessee and to determine optimal communication methods. The survey was designed to be distributed among members of the media, current or future educators and owners of businesses or organizations. However, the survey results indicate that the survey was not completed entirely by members of these target markets, so the answers represent a more diverse audience perception. From the survey results, it was apparent, that the majority of respondents could be considered unaware publics. One respondent replied that they were ex-tremely familiar. 51 out of 58 respondents replied that they had never heard of it or were very unfamiliar. Roughly half of our respondents were educators, roughly half were independent citizens. Only two repre-sented cultural organizations. Those who were familiar with VSA indicated that they become aware of VSA through a related organization – which reflects our interview findings as well.

GENERAL INTEREST AND AWARENESSThe first section of our survey was designed to discover audience’s perception of VSA, VSA’s programs and VSA affiliations.

One question asked respondents to indicate their interest in VSA Tennessee’s programs. This questioned received 107 responses out of 58 total which reveals that on average respondents are interested in at least two of the VSA’s activities. People seemed to have the least interest in the story of Israel and Palestinian relations, yet they had the most interest in countries creating and sharing lesson plans. Professional devel-opment and the creation of art were also significant points of interest.

Only 5 respondents were aware that VSA was an international organization, which is particularly interesting because of the 40 days celebration and because global interaction was one of the key points of interest for people.All but three respondents are familiar with a direct competitor – the Special Olympics. This answer reflects the findings in our focus group as well.

Seven respondents replied that they were aware of Jean Kennedy’s connection with VSA. 47 total respon-dents found Jean Kennedy’s involvement interesting to them.

AUDIENCE ANALYSISWe asked question specifically to educators and members of cultural organizations, but the number of respondents indicate clearly that other who are not part of these demographics also answered these ques-

-Survey Results-

34

tions so we could not use these sections.

AUDIENCE ACCESSIBILITYWe asked several questions to determine how audiences communicating and how they might prefer to receive communication from VSA Tennessee. We found that email is 32 out of 58 respondents’ preferred method of contact. People prefer Facebook over any other type of social media and they often use social media for entertainment and local news (although it is not always their first option – television is also popular). Yet, according to respondents, social media is also perceived as one of the most convenient and useful forms of media. Almost every respondent checks it at least once a day.

DEMOGRAPHICSFinally, we conducted demographic research. The audience was split almost entirely in half. Close to half of the respondents were under 25 and students. The other half (approximately) were between 25 and 60 and were educators (although not necessarily both).

One third of the respondents have dependents. Half were married; while half were single.Just over half of the respondents do not volunteer very regularly (a few times a year or less), but the rest volunteer at least semi-regularly.

-Survey Results-

35

-Focus Group-

The primary reason for doing this focus was to research audience perception of VSA Tennessee and to do preliminary research regarding brand identity. One of VSA Tennessee’s target audiences is teachers, so we sought their opinions. However other audiences were also represented in our group. In total, we had six participants able to do the focus group. Two were from the college of education, two were Biology majors, and one was an advertising major. This was a convenience sample, but was diverse and could represent the latent or unaware publics. In the future, we recommend that VSA Tennessee conduct interviews on more samples that are representative of their target audiences: educators, owners of business or organizations, and politicians. Once the focus group began, the first question we asked was what comes to mind when you hear the words “special needs”? The very first thing that was brought up was that they are people that require extra or unique attention. Visual disabilities were the second thing to be mentioned from the group. The spe-cial disability that was discussed the most, however, was Downs’s Syndrome. Just based off this question Downs’s Syndrome seems to be the most prevalent disorder that these participants were familiar with. For the next question, we asked participants what charities come to mind regarding disabilities? ADA was the first one that participants brought up which is the Americans with Disabilities Act. However the charity that was discussed the most and had the most awareness was the Special Olympics. Many people knew a lot about what Special Olympics does. Some participants even knew who sponsors the Special Olympics. They heard the most about Special Olympics through major retailers like Kroger or Publix’s. These sponsors constantly ask customers if they would like to donate to the Special Olympics.

The next topic is the frequency and time of the year people tend to donate the most. The answers varied from as little as once a year to as many as 10 or more times a year. The average for our group was around 2-4 times a year. Participants expressed that they donated most often at grocery stores like Kroger and Publix’s. They also seemed to prefer donating small amounts in high frequency. Participants donated large amounts only a few times a year.

We then asked what charities are people drawn to the most? Participants’ responses surrounded mostly charities that help the homeless. We speculate this answer was influenced by the cold weather at the time of the focus group. Particpants also expressed interest in charities that aided veterans. The women of the group appreciate charities that worked with victims of domestic violence. People in the group that had acquaintances with diseases liked the idea of donating to cancer research charities. These next questions were directly related to VSA. We informed the group what VSA does then asked how

36

they feel about this organization. Most people saw this as the artsy version of the Special Olympics. Many people loved the idea of VSA and how it has good long-term effects compared to the Special Olympics. One member actually had a brother who has worked with VSA and she could see the positive changes the organization had on him. Another thing people thought about VSA is that they probably deal more with mental disabilities while Special Olympics deals mostly with physical disabilities.

We then asked people questions regarding media use and communication preferences. For the most part, people tended to get most of their information from social media. People indicated that information was vital to their participation; they would be willing to support VSA if they were provided more facts about what VSA does. However, they also revealed that they preferred to receive information as visuals rather than text. Our participants desired to see the work done by people in this program rather then read about it. The teachers of the group indicated that they might be willing to participate in lesson plan sharing if it beneficial for them as well. They though that teachers of art or music would be very interested in getting involved in this program because of the type of lesson plans VSA Tennessee creates.

Finally we asked how participants would recommend that VSA Tennessee spread awareness. Many people were very supportive of a teaser video for VSA Tennessee showing what they do. The idea of partnering with local festivals was also quite popular as many areas where these participants live have local art festi-vals. These can display the work done by VSA while also spreading awareness. One last good idea brought up by members was to just hold big events that have food with just the purpose of spreading awareness of VSA while also accepting donations of many different types.

-Focus Group-

37

the Campaign

-Buzzsaw creative-

38

-Brand Design Strategy-

THE NAME

When we began the branding process for “40 Days”, our first objective was to try and sum up everything we could with the project in under 10 words. This project has many amazing accomplishments and objec-tives we wanted to show case, but we decided we needed to get 3 main messages across to our audience: it is an international art project involving thousands of people from around the world, it will take place solely online, and the fact it is celebrating, not only milestones like the anniversary of the ADA, but also encourages advocates to celebrate each other and grow closer as a community. Thus, in February of 2015 “40 Days Around the World | A Digital Arts Festival” became the official name for the project as a whole.

THE LOGO

As a team, we were very happy with this name, however we realized that we needed to create a logo that would reinforce our 3 messages in one sleek and simple design. We were always drawn towards using the globe in our logo, for obvious reasons, however the real trouble was trying to get across the “digital/online” portion of the message. Needless to say, after coming up with many over thought and over compli-cated designs, we came up with the perfect combination of the two objectives. The current icon is a globe broken down to its simplest form: a spherical figure including the 2 colors for the land and sea. However, the real message is made with the negative space that intersect the globe. These lines represent the invisible network of interconnectivity that links the world through the internet. Something as simple as that, is possibly the most important message of our whole campaign. Not only the

39

fact that we want to showcase the true talents that the disabled community has to offer, but also inspire this community to use this technology to cultivate relationships, support one another, and to dream bigger than ever before.

SUPPORT MEDIA

Because this campaign’s life spans longer than this class, we wanted to supply the client with any variations of branded media they could need in the future, this includes: a standard logo, extended logo, icon, VSA TN logo, blurb, and a teaser video.

The standard logo is universal and is the go to logo for any medium. The extended logo includes more information when there is not room for important information to be written, such as: the dates and the website url. The Icon represents the logo at its simplest and most recognizable form, and is best for tight places like a twitter profile picture. The VSA TN logo was remade in the branded colors, only as it pertains to the “40 Days” project, so that visually it will not clash with future media designs. The blurb originated as a proposed slogan that could explain the project beyond the words in its title. However, after we created it we realized that it didn’t necessarily fit within the guidelines for a slogan, so we converted it into support media for the use of the website team. Finally, we created a teaser video that gives a quick and precise punch of information about the project and campaign that will catch a viewer’s attention to want to learn more.

LANDING PAGE DESIGN

Although the website, as a whole, is in the hands of another team, we consulted in the design of the landing page that will be posted until the festival starts in mid-June. The Icon is displayed as a background texture to give the simplistic page design some visual dept. The standard logo heads the page and below it we suggested a brief description and call-to-action:

The 40 Days Project is coming soon! Get ready to join the celebration and experience art created by a global community of people with disabilities. The online festival begins on June 15th. For 40 days we will release artwork made through partnerships grown from VSA’s international network of arts and disability advocates.


40

Make sure to follow us @VSATennessee on Twitter, and also subscribe to our email newsletter down below. Be one of the first to receive exclusive sneak peaks, and notifications for this ground break-ing project!

Below that is a festive timer that will count down every second until the big unveiling of the website and featured projects. At the very bottom of the page is a place to aggregate email contacts for people who want to learn more about the project and they can be better supporters.

EVALUATION Buzzsaw Creative conducted a follow up focus group regarding the visual branding we accomplished. They were given the digital pack of the “40 Days Around the World | A Digital Arts Festival” assets we created and were asked to evaluate our designs and their effectiveness.

THE EVALUATORS REPLIED WITH THE FOLLOWING QUOTES: “I found the VSA logo aesthetically pleasing. The campaign serves as an inspiration to those who come into contact with it.” “I really like the logos colors. They stick out and you don’t see to many people using this type of green in their logos.” “I like them all [….] it looks modern and not too busy -- very sleek.” “I didn’t know anything about VSA before this focus group. Now that I know what they do I really support the message they are sending out to others.”


41


42

-Campaign Objectives-

T H I S C A M P A I G N H A S T W O M A I N O B J E C T I V E S

OBJECTIVE 1

Promote 40 Days Around the World cam-paign by building awareness among current audience members of VSA Tennessee.

OBJECTIVE 2

Enable VSA Tennessee in order to better promote themselves so the 40 Days Cam-paign can be better communicated and can have a further reach.

43

-SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULT-

STRATEGIES

Buzzsaw Creative’s research revealed that the communication channels most used by VSA Tennessee and its audiences are social media and direct email. We recognized that VSA Tennessee was already utilizing these communication channels, however their social media posts were weak and inconsistent, which was a threat to their communication. In order to alleviate this threat, we created a social media guideline book, a calendar of recommended social media posts and we recommend a social media workshop. We used this strategy to accomplish the second objective: empowering VSA Tennessee to better promote themselves so the 40 Days Campaign can be better communicated and can have a further reach. TACTIC 1: SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINE BOOK

For Lori and VSA Tennessee, Buzzsaw Creative wanted to provide a guideline book that outlined the most effective ways to create social media content, specifically for Facebook and Twitter. Our aim was to give Lori something that she could use throughout the future to help VSA Tennessee more effectively commu-nicate to the target audience. A guideline book is a simple and understandable yet effective way to provide VSA Tennessee information that could improve target publics’ social media participation, awareness and perceptions. In order to create this book, we first identified the social media platforms that are most effec-tive for VSA Tennessee. These were Facebook and Twitter. We conducted research to analyze and provide information on the posts that Lori would use.

From our research, we assessed which social media platforms are most effective for VSA Tennessee. Our research indicates that VSA Tennessee’s audience is primarily users of Facebook and Twitter. Our audience consists of adult females who are educators. According to Pew Research, 71% of the adult Internet users and 51% of the entire adult population are users of Facebook, 77% of Facebook users are female and they are 10% more likely to use Facebook than male.1 According to Pew Research, Twitter is used by 23% of adult users, 21% of the users are female. 2 Although this percentage is lower for national averages, experi-ence has shown that Twitter is effective in reaching specific audiences that are valuable to VSA Tennessee. VSA Tennessee currently follows relevant opinion leaders and target publics through their Twitter account and is followed by these organizations.

1 Pew Research Center’s Internet Project January Omnibus Survey, January 23-26, 2014.2 Pew Research Center’s Internet Project January Omnibus Survey, January 23-26, 2014.

44

TACTIC 2: CONTENT SUGGESTIONS

Buzzsaw Creative suggested and produced social media content in order to provide VSA Tennessee with a variety of different Facebook posts that they can use to enhance their social media presence. We provided this because our brand analysis research revealed that this organization’s social media posts are often in-consistent and tend to be very wordy. By providing suggestions on when and what to post, we hope to help VSA Tennessee better inform their followers. The posts we provided in the consult pack mainly focused on upcoming events such as upcoming launch of the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival, the Kickoff event for the festival and the American’s Dis-ability Act 25th anniversary event. These posts were meant to create excitement for the upcoming events and make sure that followers of VSA Tennessee know when they will be taking place. The pack also includes media that we hope VSA Tennessee includes in the posts. Pictures, videos and links will aid in providing information. TACTIC 3: MULTIMEDIA POST CONTENT

Buzzsaw Creative created a short multimedia video to be included in this pack. The video’s main objective is to grab the viewers’ attention and have them react to our call to action to find out more about the proj-ect. The video has a very minimalistic design with minimal written content which is an approach commonly seen in blockbuster movie trailers. VSA Tennessee uploaded this video to their various social media outlets to promote awareness and generate excitement for the upcoming 40 Days Festival. TACTIC 4: VISUAL FOR POSTS

Buzzsaw Creative wanted to create and aggregate all possible types of media that VSA Tennessee could want to include in their social media efforts. To provide basic brand recognition we included the standard, extended and icon logos. We also created a VSA Tennessee logo and a visual blurb as support media and to add variety. Lastly, we included visuals from VSA Tennessee partners and upcoming events. These mate-rials were posted on VSA Tennessee’s Facebook on March 22nd and were used on the landing page which was created on April 3rd. The logo and other visuals were used throughout the campaign on other printed and digital material as well such as press releases.


45


46


47


48


49


50


51


52


53


54


55


56


57

MULTIMEDIA CONTENT


58

EVALUATION

VSA Tennessee should evaluate the success of the social media consult pack through quantitative mea-sures of behavioral and attitudinal changes among VSA Tennessee’s social media followers. Buzzsaw Cre-ative would also recommend that VSA Tennessee complete a communication audit of their social media in order to qualitatively evaluate the change in quality of social media communications.

For quantitative evaluations, Buzzsaw Creative recommends tracking the number of likes, comments and shares/retweets. Facebook Insights is an excellent tool for tracking and measuring performance and would work perfectly for this task. It measures which of your post types are most popular with your followers and can assist in determining if your target audiences are being reached through demographic analysis. For these measures to be meaningful though, we recommend comparing post campaign numbers to pre-cam-paign numbers.

To measure attitudinal changes, we recommend conducting pre and post surveys among VSA Tennessee’s social media followers. Survey questions would gauge whether the social media consultations affected any change in audience’s perceptions and opinions of VSA Tennessee’s posts.

Finally, a communications audit of the social media posts would provide an overview of VSA Tennessee’s communication behavior over the course of the campaign and could be used to evaluate the quality of the new posts.


59

-Digital press KIT-

STRATEGIES The Press Kit functions as a informational packet that VSA Tennessee can provide to interested mem-bers of the press. Buzzsaw Creative compiled information about the 40 Days Digital Arts Festival and VSA Tennessee’s brand, leadership and community relations. By providing this information to members of the press, VSA Tennessee can encourage more media coverage of events and stories for the organization - thus enabling the creation of content that will further VSA Tennessee’s reach among unaware publics. TACTIC 1: LEADERSHIP DOSSIER This is a short biography on Lori Kissinger. It will be used to inform people that are interested in the VSA Tennessee or the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival about woman who is the head of the Ten-nessee chapter of VSA and the driving force behind the 40 Days Festival. TACTIC 2: FACT SHEET We created fact sheets to provided basic information about VSA Tennessee and the 40 Days Festival. This fact sheet makes finding the essential information simple and easy for interested members of the press and others. TACTIC 3: TESTIMONIALS A testimonial page was included in the press kit to showcase the loyalty and admiration of current spon-sors. The page is also a way for current sponsors to communicate the benefits of sponsoring VSA Tennes-see to potential sponsors. TACTIC 4: PRESS RELEASES For the members of the press, we included one of our press releases in the press kit. Here they will have a convenient and informative example of the programs of VSA Tennessee and the type of opportunities that be available. TACTIC 5: CONTACT LIST The contact list was created for VSA Tennessee to use in distributing the press kit. It includes media outlets and potential sponsors so VSA Tennessee can extend their reach and build awareness of the organization in more ways than one.

60

-Digital press KIT-

61

-Digital press KIT-

62

-Digital press KIT-

63

-Digital press KIT-

What is VSA Tennessee?• VSA is an international organization on arts and disability. It was founded more than 35 years ago by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to provide arts and education opportunities for people with disabilities and increase access to the arts for all. • With 52 international affiliates and networking nationwide, VSA provides arts and education programs for youth and adults with disabilities everywhere. • VSA offers educational programs for many. It ranges from students, to educators and to even others interested in professional development. • Seven million people of all ages and abilities participate in VSA activities in every aspect of the arts each year.

Our four principles1. Every young person with a disability deserves access to high quality arts learning experiences.2. All artists in schools and art educators should be prepared to include students with disabilities in their instruction3. All children, youth and adults with disabilities should have complete access to cultural facilities and activities.4. All individuals with disabilities who aspire to careers in the arts should have the opportunity to develop.

Contact• Lori Kissinger, Ambassador for VSA Tennessee• [email protected] • 615-210-8819• http://vsatn.org

64

-Digital press KIT-

The Project

• In honor of VSA’s 40th anniversary and the American Disabilities Act’s 25th anniversary,thefirstVSAinternationalprojectwilltakeplace.

•VSA’s“40DaysAroundtheWorld”projectwilltakeplacebetweenJune16thand July24th.

•Theprojects,fromdifferentlocations,willbeshowcasedeachdayduringthe40 daycampaign.

•Oncethecampaignisover,VSATennesseewillleavethewebsiteuppermanentlyasresourcesforeducatorsandVSAaffiliates.

65

-Digital press KIT-

F.A.Q.

1. How can interested people support the 40 Days Campaign? They can spread the word to educators, arts groups, and people that work with people with disabilities about the event so they can visit it.

2. What is VSA Tennessee? VSA Tennessee provides opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in and express themselves through the arts and arts education. Vision - Strength- Artisic Expression: The arts are for everyone!

3. What is VSA Tennessee’s mission? The mission of VSA Tennessee is to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to participate in and express themselves through the arts and arts education.

4. What is the 40 Days Around the World Campaign? To celebrate VSA’s 40th anniversary, VSA Tennessee has spearheaded a global digital festival that has brought countries, cultures, and people together like no other program VSA has every undertaken. This festival will be an online arts festival showcasing the talents and collaborative efforts of 60 countries, and will take place at www.40days.vsatn.org live on June 16th. The festival will last for 40 days and each day, VSA will unveil a new project. Each project has been created by people with disabilities working in tandem with atleast one other country.

5. What is the mission of the 40 Days Campaign? To celebrate 40 years of helping people with disabilities in reaching their artistic nd educational goals. VSA intends to highlight the collaborative efforts and artistic achievements of the affiliates and partners of VSA that have made the success of the organization possible.

6. What does the 40 Days Campaign logo signify? The current icon is a globe broken down to its simplest form: a spherical figure including the 2 colors for the land and sea. However, the real message is made with the negative space that intersect the globe. These lines represent the invisible network of interconnectivity that links the world through the internet. Something as simple as that, is possibly the most important message of our whole campaign. The 40 Days Around the World festival showcases the true talents that the disabled community has to offer, moreover, it inspires this community to use this technology to cultivate relationships, support one another, and to dream bigger than ever before. Our logo showcases this accomplishment.

66

-Digital press KIT-

Smyrna Ready MixJeremy Ethridge [email protected] 615-218-1465

Duggin ConstructionAaron Duggin [email protected] 615-347-7884

Seedling Marketing GroupMisael Tovar [email protected] 615-653-4764

Moxie Art Supply302 W Vine St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130 615-849-1131

The Learning Circle2992 S Church St #A, Murfreesboro, TN 37127 615-904-1082

Jerry’s ArtaramaHickory Hollow, 5361 Mt View Rd, Antioch, TN 615-731-5901

Michael’s 2615 Medical Center Parkway, The Avenue, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 615-896-6432

Hobby Lobby 1717 Old Fort Pkwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129 615-217-4578

Nashville Parent Magazine 615-256-2158 [email protected]

WKRN [email protected]

MTSU Sidelines 615-893-5860

WMTS (MTSU Radio) [email protected]

Nashville.gov-Arts & Events615-862-6720 [email protected]

Media List

67

-Digital press KIT-

EVALUATION

As a traditional press kit, these materials should be given to members of the press. The press kit can also be sent to any interested potential sponsors to provide them with information about the organization. One way for VSA Tennessee to evaluate the effectiveness of this press kit is to measure the output of media coverage and new sponsorship that is generated by those who received the press kit. Another method would be to conduct interviews or surveys of those who received the press kit asking whether or not the information was useful.

68

-WEBsite CONTENT -

STRATEGIES Buzzsaw Creative developed content for the 40 Days Festival website including the “Press Room” section, the FAQ and an “About Us” Page. This content is intended to inform viewers of VSA Tennessee and the 40 Days Festival. Providing website content accomplishes both the first and second objectives as this content both promotes awareness and understanding the 40 Days Festival and helps VSA Tennessee communicate to their target audiences.

TACTIC 1: FAQ The FAQ will provide answers to commonly asked questions on the 40 days website. Questions consist of “What is the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival” and “How can I get involved” and more.

TACTIC 2: ABOUT US PAGE This About Us page will be a location where website visitors can quickly and easily glean information about VSA Tennessee and the 40 Days Festival.

TACTIC 3: TEASER VIDEO The Teaser Video was created to promote the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival through engaging and interesting visuals on the website. This video will break up the monotony of text and will be a quick and eye-cating way of conveying information. (N.B. this is the same video discussed in the Social Media Consult section) TACTIC 4: PRESS ROOM The press kit described above will go inside the “Press Room” section so that interested members of the press can find all the relevant information they would need in a convenient location.

69

-WEBsite CONTENT -

TEASER VIDEO

70

-WEBsite CONTENT -

EVALUATION

The evaluation of this content will need to take place throughout the campaign. Buzzsaw Creative recom-mends that VSA Tennessee monitors the website and content for unique impressions and number of visits. Collecting these measures throughout the 40 Days Festival will inform VSA Tennessee of how frequently the website is viewed and how many of these viewers return to view the site again. Each section we have created will be found in different areas of the website and it might be necessary to monitor each separate-ly to compare the unique hits of the FAQ, Fact Sheets and Video to the total number of unique views on the website.

The “Press Room” section should be measured with an entirely different evaluation. The "Press Room" section is informative and not necessarily designed to attract a wide range of audiences. In order to most effectively measure the utility of the “Press Room” section, VSA Tennessee could conduct interviews or focus groups with members of the press that have shown interest in the 40 Days Festival story or have covered a story about the organization. These members of the press could provide valuable feedback in regards to whether or not they found the “Press Room” section and used it in their information gathering and whether or not the section was helpful to them.

71

-PR suggestions kit -

STRATEGIES 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival is a global festival that is not solely a project of VSA Tennes-see. For this reason, part of helping our client and fulfilling our goals for the 40 Days Festival involved help-ing other affiliated organizations with their personal PR efforts. The purpose of this packet is to supply over 80 participating organizations with the foundational materials for a strong outreach campaign. Ultimately, this will benefit the overall awareness and success of the 40 Days Festival. If the affiliated parties utilize the strategies and materials in this kit, the reach of the campaign will grow exponentially. This kit will include: the release schedule for the projects, a list of promotional ideas, a sample press release, a promotional video that is appropriate for an international audience and visual content packet for the “40 Days Festival” brand image. If the affiliates choose to use this packet, the packet will accomplish both of our campaign objectives. TACTIC 1: PITCH This pitch letter has been distributed as an email to the affiliates encouraging them to promote the 40 Days Around the World Arts Festival in their own states and among their own supporters. This letter functions as the body of the email which contains the entire PR suggestions packet. The email pitches the idea of promoting the 40 Days Festival, and if this pitch is successful, it will enable 40 Days promotions to have a farther reach and magnitude than we could create. TACTIC 2: PROJECT RELEASE DATES We compiled and sent a calendar that outlined the release dates and participants of each project during the 40 Days Festival. We included this as part of the PR suggestions packet so each affiliate would be able to know when their project would go live. We expect the affiliates could use this calendar to plan promo-tional events, support fellow affiliates or even create educational programs. TACTIC 3: SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE The sample press release was designed to further encourage affiliate participation in promoting the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival. The sample press release was written as a short, simple exam-ple of a properly formatted press release. It was created to be adaptable to the affiliates’ individual needs but also to be almost entirely useable as is. With minimal adjustments the affiliates should be able to use this press release to promote their own events or promotional campaigns. TACTIC 4: PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

72

This video is intended to visually and briefly introduce the 40 Days Around the World Arts Festival. The video was constructed with many pictures and few words so that viewers who do not speak English can also understand its content. The pictures mostly consisted of members and partners of the VSA Tennes-see affiliates working on their 40 Days projects. TACTIC 5: VISUAL CONTENT PACK Buzzsaw Creative wanted to provide the affiliates and participants with the most resources as possible to better help them promote themselves. So, we decided to include a variety pack of visual branding assets including: standard logo, extended logo, icon, visual blurb and a teaser video geared towards an interna-tional audience. TACTIC 5: PR TACTICS SUGGESTIONS Buzzsaw Creative generated a short list of nine suggestions that could inspire affiliates to become involved in the promotional aspect of the 40 Days Festival. We have suggested some things that would be simple to implement and other things that would require more planning. We gave a brief description of the benefit and potential of each item. Our hope is that this list would show the affiliates the opportunities they have to promote this festival and would also impress upon them the opportunities they might be missing if they did not promote the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival. For instance, they might miss fundrais-ing opportunities and the chance to create a fairly simple educational program. If even one affiliate imple-mented just one of our suggestions, the reach of the campaign would multiply.


73


Letter to Affiliates

Hello:

You deserve a standing ovation. You have been part of a collaborative effort that has brought people of all different abilities, cultures and beliefs from 60 countries and 13 states together to create an online festival and digital expository of art. We invite you to promote your efforts. Let your sponsors know, spread the website link, and showcase this feat. Attached is a sam-ple press release that you could rework to fit your format and send out as a newsletter to your sponsors or to your local press. We have also attached a calendar showing which day each project will be showcased and we have attached a list of ideas for promoting this amazing feat. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to celebrate this momentous achievement.

Best Regards,VSA Tennessee

74


Radio Broadcast exchange

Making Masks

Postcard Exchange

Gallery Exhibition

Exchange of Letters

Music Exchange

Animation

Play Production.

Trading Card Exchange

Weaving Workshop

Hong Kong Artlink Project with Texas, and Tawain.

Photography exchange

Musical Choir exchange

Children’s Art exchange

Minnesota/Sweden

June:16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Event: Participants: TN & Dublin

TN & Greece

Colorado & Guatemala

Florida & Nigeria

TN & Vietnam

TN & Palestine

TN & Israel

TN & Belfast, Ireland

TN & New Brunswick

TN & Japan.

-

TN & Nepal

TN & Italy

TN & Haiti

-

Calendar of Events

75


July:1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Event: Participants:Michigan/Israel.

TN/Alaska.

TN/France/NJ.

TN/China.

TN/Dominican Republic.

TN/Israel.

Florida, Kentucky and TN

TN/Austria.

Coorinated by TN

DE, NY, TN & Liberia.

TN/Italy/Switzerland

Cambodia, Myanmar, South Africa, TN

Virginia/India

TN & Italy

KY, OH, NM & TN

TN

NY/Sudan

TN/Mexico/Spain

TN/Belfast Northern Ireland

Ireland/TN.

Calendar of Events

Quilt block exchange

Art exchange

Sharing Art through hope

Mural Art Creations

My favorite Sports exchange

Exchange between the individuals with hearing impairments

Young Soloist Program

Sound Painting

TN Sister Cities Art Competition: China, Germany, Israel, Italy, Russia.

The Power of the Stage and Film

Communicating through the arts

TN Artist with a disability visits 3 Countries doing storytelling

The World’s A Stage exchange

Adult Artwork Exchange

Writing Workshop. Veterans and Refugees

Zine Project

HAM Radio project

Art Training

“What Makes My Home Special”

TN Be Irish for A Day Festival

Egypt Plants of My Country Project: Egypt, Hong Kong, Kuwait,

Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tennessee, Texas, and Yamen

76


Promotional Possibilities

1. Post on social mediaLet your followers know, remind them often (even multiple times a day). Multi-media post can grab attention. Interesting content can start conversations and encourage viewers to share your posts

2. Retweet and share posts of other similar organizations to create awarenessBy being active on other organization’s social media, you can get your name known while fostering a multually benefitial relationship 3. Send press releasesSee the attached press release. You could use this as a starting point for creating your own press releases or you could simply drop the text into your press release format.

4. Create an event promoting your projectAn event could be anything from a sponsor’s banquet to a celebration of your project with all of your members. You could even use the unveiling of your project in the digital gallery as a fundraising opportunity.

5. Get your local government and non-profits involved.These officials are often eager to support the VSA mission in a plethora of ways.

6. Contact local high-profile individualsBy recruiting the support of opinion leaders, you can also recruit those who follow their examples.

7. Create your own media Flyers, invitations, shirts, stickers, etc. You can sell these items as fundraisers or simply use them to spread the word.

8. Make the project an educational programUse this digital gallery as an virtual field trip. Encourage students to study and respond to the art

9. Do a social media campaignChallenge your members and your sponsors to check in to the 40 Days Around the World website daily through a clever social media challenge - be creative.

77


EVALUATIONThe training kit which was sent to 216 people can be evaluated during or after the 40 days campaign. This can happen by personal interviews of a randomized sample. The interviews could ascertain whether affil-iates used these promotional materials and/or suggestions provided. VSA Tennessee could also evaluate these material through a communication audit of all the affiliates communication channels to determine not only the use of the materials, but also the reach, quantity and quality of the affiliates’ promotions. The first method could reveal the basic success of the PR suggestions packet - through questions regarding the utility and effectiveness of the promotional materials for the affiliates. The latter method would reveal more quantifiably the effectiveness and utility through research and media analysis.

78

STRATEGIES Buzzsaw Creative recommended that VSA Tennessee attend the ADA 25 industry event because their pres-ents at the event and the distribution of the postcards during the event accomplished the campaign ob-jectives of promoting 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival and building awareness among target publics. The industry event was a celebration of 25 years of Americans with Disabilities Act. It was hosted by the ADA Legacy Project and occurred in Nashville, TN which is not only the capitol of Tennessee but also close to the central hub of VSA Tennessee activities. We anticipated that our target audience would be present and that at this event VSA Tennessee could reach many potential yet unaware publics. TACTIC 1: PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL VSA Tennessee staffed a table at the event where people could learn more about the organization and their programs. Buzzsaw Creative designed an informational brochure for VSA Tennessee members to hand out at the table so publics would have a visual, hard copy of the information they received and a re-minder to join the online 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival. EVALUATION To determine effectiveness, we looked at the number of people who were at the event for ADA which was roughly 120 people and compared this number to the number of people who took postcards and visited the table. The number of people who visited the table was undeterminable, but the number of postcards that were taken was 20.

-INDUSTRY EVENT-

79

-INDUSTRY EVENT-

40 Days Around the World is a digital festival showcasing cultural exchanges of art and education between people with disabilities from 60 countries. Visit 40days.vsatn.org beginning June 16 to discover a new project daily for 40 days.

twitter.com/VSATennessee

facebook.com/vsatn

40days.vsatn.org

80

-Promotional Event-

STRATEGIES VSA Tennessee wanted Buzzsaw Creative to begin a promotional event that would act as a celebration of the work that VSA Tennessee has done on the 40 Days Festival and would encourage excitement and awareness of the 40 Days Festival among VSA Tennessee’s supporters. The objective of the Kickoff event is to celebrate the upcoming 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival, to promote awareness of the festival and to generally support VSA Tennessee’s efforts through furthering awareness and providing fundraising opportunities. In order to maximize the output of this event, Buzzsaw Creative tied the event to an existing program called the Big Payback Event, which is a fundraising opportunity for organizations like VSA Tennessee. At the event, which will be held the first week of May, VSA Tennessee will unveil one of the projects that will be part of the upcoming festival. They will also have presentations from several of the support teams that have made the 40 Days Festival possible. This event ultimately will set the stage for the festival which starts in June and will spread awareness and enthusiasm among VSA Tennessee’s sponsors. Moreover, because this event is happening simultaneously with the Big Payback Event, this event will also be an ideal fundraising opportunity. TACTIC 1: INVITATION The event invitation is functioning as a digital invitation to the May 5th Kickoff Event for directly sending to VSA Tennessee affiliates. It outlines details of the Big Payback Event as well as the details surrounding the Kickoff event. It reached a total of 229 individuals when posted on VSA Tennessee’s Facebook. It went live on the Facebook page on Monday, April 13, 2015. This timing and medium ensures maximum, effective exposure among VSA Tennessee’s active publics. TACTIC 2: SPLASHTHAT PAGE The SplashThat page was created for VSA Tennessee’s Kickoff Event which VSA Tennessee is hosting in tan-dem with the Big Payback Event. The SplashThat page has been sent out to individuals who are affiliated with VSA Tennessee via email and social media. Its function is to collect and log registration to the event and to inform interested individuals of the event’s pertinent information. The page clearly displays the time, address, a countdown and contextual information about the event. Buzzsaw Creative wanted to create an event page that was effective and would give us the ability to be creative. The SplashThat platform gave us access to a customizable theme page that provided us area to upload the 40 Days logo, address, date, time, a countdown and a blurb that outlined the information of the

81

event. SplashThat also gave us the option to customize the event with a hashtag for event attendees to share via social media. TACTIC 3: PROCURING GALLERY SPACE Buzzsaw Creative desired to host this event on the Middle Tennessee State University campus because many of the VSA Tennessee events have been hosted on this campus and active publics may be familiar with the location. Also, the Todd Art Gallery is an ideal location for showcasing art. The room is spacious, well-lit and has the amenities that we need. To procure this location we tracked down Eric Snyder who runs the gallery office. Through a series of personal meetings and email correspondence, we negotiated a date and time and use of amenities such as projectors and tables. TACTIC 4: INTERNAL PRESS RELEASE The internal press release was meant to be sent to VSA Tennessee’s active and aware publics. This release was purely informative and could be distributed via fax, email or through newsletter subscriptions. The purpose of this press release was to make current sponsors aware of the upcoming opportunities of the Kickoff event and encourage their participation. TACTIC 5: EXTERNAL PRESS RELEASE Buzzsaw Creative designed the external press release to invite the media to come to the Kickoff event. In order to most effectively communicate to this audience, we not only explained the significance of the event, but we also included information regarding what picture opportunities would be available and information about parking. We recommended that this release be sent out a month prior to the event to local news outlets that have carried similar feature stories in the past. The Tennessean, Sidelines and the Tennessee Tribune would be ideal.

-Promotional Event-

82

-Promotional Event-

83

-Promotional Event-

Media ReleaseFor immediate releaseMarch 31, 2015

ContactLori [email protected]

VSA Tennessee is a not for profit organization that encourages people with disabilities to accomplish their educational and professional goals in the arts. Through art, VSA empowers their members to grow and succeed. By inspiring teachers to create lesson plans, by offering classes and workshops for members and by showcasing the talents of those with disabilities. VSA seeks to bring hope, acceptance and joy to the lives of their members. To get involved, support VSA Tennessee or to receive more information contact Lori Kissinger at [email protected].

May 5th VSA Tennessee brings together a quilt, a digital arts festival and a Middle Tennessee online celebration.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A digital arts festival kick-off event on May 5 enables sponsors to support VSA

Tennessee and to get an exclusive look at projects from the upcoming 40 Days Digital Arts Festival.

On May 5, VSA Tennessee is unveiling one of the biggest projects that will be showcased during their 40 Days

Digital Arts Festival. The project is a quilt that has been designed and constructed by children with disabilities from 39

countries and 36 states. This unveiling will be from 3 to 5 pm in Todd Art Gallery on the campus of Middle Tennessee

State University. All are welcome to celebrate this cultural, artistic, political and social accomplishment. Parking is

available by receiving a visitors pass from MTSU Parking Services

VSA Tennessee has spearheaded a global digital festival that has brought countries, cultures, and people together

like no other program. The 40 Days Digital Arts Festival will be an online arts festival showcasing the talents and

collaborative efforts of 60 countries, and will take place at www.40days.vsntn.org live on June 16. The festival will last for

40 days.

This celebration will also allow sponsors to support this amazing program and VSA Tennessee as May 5 is the also the

date for the Big Payback, a 24-hour, online giving event to increase philanthropy in the 40 counties served by the

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Big Payback’s goal is to inspire Middle Tennesseans to come together,

show their pride in their community, and contribute to support the life-changing work of local nonprofit organizations.

###

84

-Promotional Event-

Media ReleaseFor immediate releaseMay 05, 2015


On May 5 VSA Tennessee celebrates the upcoming digital arts festival with special preview

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - VSA Tennessee is spearheading a global art exchange which will culminate in an 40 days

online digtial arts festival. In anticipation, VSA Tennessee invites you to have a special preview of one of the biggest

projects that will be on display during the festival.

VSA Tennessee will unveil a sneak preview of the global digital festival that has brought countries, cultures, and

people together like no other program. This festival will be an online arts festival showcasing the talents and


40 days.

On May 5, VSA Tennessee is unveiling one of the biggest projects that will be showcased during this festival. The

project is a quilt that has been designed and constructed by children with disabilities from 39 countries and 36 states.

VSA Tennessee invites you to attend this kick-off event on May 5 starting from 3 to 5 pm in Todd Art Gallery on the

campus of Middle Tennessee State University to celebrate this cultural, artistic, political and social accomplishment.

This celebration will allow you to help support this amazing program and to support VSA Tennessee as May 5

is the also the date for the Big Payback. The Big Payback is a 24-hour, online giving event to increase philanthropy in

the 40 counties served by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Big Payback’s goal is to inspire Middle

Tennesseans to come together, show their pride in their community, and contribute to support the life-changing work of

local nonprofit organizations.

###


85

EVALUATION OF MATERIALS

Invitation Buzzsaw Creative designed the invitation so VSA Tennessee could send it to their sponsors and share it on their social media platforms. The invitation outlined the details of the Kick-Off Party and the Big Pay-back Event. With all of this information, the invitation serves its intended function to invite and inform and it serves as a visual, digital reminder. The optimal way to evaluate the effectiveness of the invitation is to determine whether it met the objects it was designed for: making audiences aware of the event and urging audiences to attend. We can determine this based on the reach of the invitations compared to the amount of attendees, RSVPs and other responses that VSA Tennessee receives from those who have been given the invitation. As of April 22, 2015, the invitation has been sent via email to 175 VSA Tennessee sponsors and was also shared on Facebook twice reaching 229 individuals. Buzzsaw Creative recommends that VSA Tennessee conduct another analysis of the total reach after May 5th and compare this number to the number of comments on Facebook, emails received regarding the May 5th event, RSVPs on the SplashThat page and, of course, the number of attendees at the event. SplashThat PageBuzzsaw Creative recommends evaluating the SplashThat page by examining the amount of registrations and page views. The pre-event evaluation we conducted on April 22, 2015, revealed that six attendees had registered and the page had 87 views. Buzzsaw Creative recommends that VSA Tennessee conduct a post-event evaluation to determine the final number of views and registration. EVALUATION OF EVENT

Buzzsaw Creative recommends evaluating the success of this promotional event in two ways. The first and simplest way to measure the event’s success is to count the number of people who attend. Attendance is a quantifiable, behavioral measure of the event’s success. Another way to measure whether this event is successful, is through social media behavior before and after the event. VSA Tennessee can measure how many people were exposed to the posts regarding the event through Facebook Insights and compare this number to the number of people who liked the posts and finally to the number who attended. In this way, VSA Tennessee can compare awareness to attitude and attitude to behavior.

-Promotional Event-

86

-Political Event-

TACTIC 1: INVITATION The invitation was made to let congressmen from each state know that their VSA Affiliate helped with the 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival and to invite them to Capitol Hill the day that the quilt will be hung up. Buzzsaw Creative made this with both the VSA Tennessee and 40 Days Festival logos, with the contact information and with whereabouts of this event. We then made a second invitation to go out to different countries for the individuals and organizations that helped make this event possible. The goal is to invite these public officials so they can support their states and countries for what everyone has accom-plished for this 40 days project. Ultimately, these officials are potential sponsors and opinion leaders and inviting them is indirectly accomplishing our first campaign objective.

EVALUATION These invitations were sent out to 535 public officials and 60 international embassies to inform officials about this event and to invite them to participate in support of their state or country. The objective of this tactic is to simply make these opinion leaders aware of VSA’s efforts and to encourage their support. VSA Tennessee can evaluate the effectiveness of these invitations based on number of direct responses, RSVPs and personal appearance at the event.

87

-Political Event-

88

-SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE-

STRATEGIES The VSA Super Selfie campaign allows VSA Tennessee to spread the word about the organization. By using the hashtag #VSASuperSelfie, companies, organizations and educators can spread awareness through social media. The hashtag can generate curiosity and could generate a snowball effect of word of mouth if other companies and organizations followed suit when tagged. Through this VSA Tennessee could garner more recognition and could make unaware publics aware – two things our research revealed were sig-nificantly lacking. We designed this campaign so that it would be replicable by the other affiliates as well so this promotion would not simply benefit VSA Tennessee. Moreover, this directly accomplishes our first campaign objective. DESCRIPTION OF VSASUPERSELFIE CHALLENGEBuzzsaw Creative recommends that VSA Tennessee encourage their sponsors and partners to become advocates and spread awareness through a social media challenge. The campaign would challenge partic-ipants to post a picture of themselves wearing a mask or a cape on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #VSAsuperselfie. They would then tag and challenge another company or individual to be a “super hero for the arts” in the same manner. We recommend that VSA Tennessee targets specifically companies, educa-tional institutions and other non-profit organizations as well as opinion leaders for people with disabilities. These audiences are likely to be more professional while participating in the challenge (so that VSA Tennes-see can ensure reputability) and these publics are most similar, or are closely connected with VSA Tennes-see’s current target publics.

TACTIC 1: FLYER Buzzsaw Creative created this flyer in order to encourage participation in the SuperSelfie campaign. We suggest that VSA Tennessee use of this flyer along with in-person interviews and email invitations. This flyer can serve as a visual reminder to engage in the challenge on social media. The flyer could be handed out to companies during personal invitations, could be posted on Facebook and could be hung in locations where target publics would likely see.

TACTIC 2: EXTERNAL PRESS RELEASE This external press release is intended for the mass media such as newspapers, radio, television and other news sources. These media outlets will bring additional visibility, coverage and attention to the VSAsuper-Selfie campaign and ultimately VSA Tennessee. If any local mass media outlet runs this press release, the coverage would be exponentially more than VSA Tennessee would other be able to achieve, moreover, it

89

could give the campaign more credibility and make participation seem more exciting.

TACTIC 3: INTERNAL PRESS RELEASE This internal press release is intended for companies and institutions who are familiar with VSA Tennessee such as sponsors and partners.This press release informs these entities of the upcoming VSASuperSelife campaign and encourages participation. The press release can be sent via Facebook, VSA Tennessee’s newsletter and through personal e-mail. . TACTIC 4: PITCH LETTER Buzzsaw Creative intended this pitch letter to encourage celebrities who are known to support organiza-tions like VSA Tennessee to participate in the VSASuperSelfie campaign. We had intended to target Stevie Wonder because he has previously publically expressed interest in helping other artists with disabilities. If he agreed to participate in this campaign, it could significantly affect the campaign’s reach and reputation. TACTIC 5: PERSONAL INVITATION To more persuasively encourage VSA Tennessee’s sponsors to participate in the VSASuperSelfie campaign, we would recommend using word-of-mouth invitations. We would recommend visiting key businesses or institutions to personally invite them to participate in the VSASuperSelfie challenge. We recommend handing them the flyer and following up with the official press release in an email. Ultimately, face-to-face contact is more persuasive and can ensure that companies understand and remember to participate in the challenge. Furthermore, by ensuring these key entities begin the challenge, the campaign will be off to a solid start and others will hopefully follow their example when they are tagged.


90





Social media challenge brings awareness to arts and disabilities

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - VSA Tennessee’s supporters will reveal their super hero identities to support art and

disabilities by posting pictures of themselves wearing a mask or cape on social media throughout April.

Supporters are asked to reveal their super hero identities through posting pictures on Facebook and Twitter with

the hashtag #BigPayback to start conversations about VSA Tennessee’s many super-sized and super-inspiring projects.

Through participation in this challenge, VSA Tennessee sponsors and supporters help bring awareness to the VSA

Tennessee projects and reveal they are super advocates and super supporters of all that VSA Tennessee has achieved.

In addition to posting pictures of themselves, participants are encouraged to tag other companies and/or

individuals, challenging them to reveal their super hero identities for VSA Tennessee as well. They will also use the hashtag

#BigPayback which ties this social media challenge to Middle Tennessee’s Big Payback event, a 24-hour, online giving

event to increase philanthropy in the 40 counties served by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Big

Payback’s goal is to inspire Middle Tennesseans to come together, show their pride in their community, and contribute to

support the life-changing work of local nonprofit organizations.

The VSA Tennessee social media challenge and Big Payback opportunity are also meant to raise awareness of VSA

Tennessee’s 40 Days Digital Arts Festival which is a celebration for VSA’s 40th anniversary. This festival will last for 40

days starting June 16 and will showcase the talents and collaborative efforts of 60 countries. It will take place at www.

40days.vsntn.org.

###

91




May 5th VSA Tennessee brings together a quilt, a digital arts festival and a Middle Tennessee online celebration.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A digital arts festival kick-off event on May 5 enables sponsors to support VSA

Tennessee and to get an exclusive look at projects from the upcoming 40 Days Digital Arts Festival.

On May 5, VSA Tennessee is unveiling one of the biggest projects that will be showcased during their 40 Days

Digital Arts Festival. The project is a quilt that has been designed and constructed by children with disabilities from 39

countries and 36 states. This unveiling will be from 3 to 5 pm in Todd Art Gallery on the campus of Middle Tennessee

State University. All are welcome to celebrate this cultural, artistic, political and social accomplishment. Parking is

available by receiving a visitors pass from MTSU Parking Services

VSA Tennessee has spearheaded a global digital festival that has brought countries, cultures, and people together

like no other program. The 40 Days Digital Arts Festival will be an online arts festival showcasing the talents and


40 days.

This celebration will also allow sponsors to support this amazing program and VSA Tennessee as May 5 is the also the

date for the Big Payback, a 24-hour, online giving event to increase philanthropy in the 40 counties served by the

Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Big Payback’s goal is to inspire Middle Tennesseans to come together,

show their pride in their community, and contribute to support the life-changing work of local nonprofit organizations.

###


92


Pitch Letter to Influencers

Subject: Something super is about to happen, so don your capes.

40 years ago, a super organization was created that would instruct others, help others and empower others to achieve their goals in the arts. With super vision, this organization en-visioned a world of people coming together to celebrate 40 years of life changing art. With super intellect, it formulated a plan involving 60 countries and 13 states, and 46 projects. However, as the projects are unveiled, this organization will also unveil its super hero identity.

The VSA Affiliates are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the VSA with a global festival that has brought countries, cultures and people together like no other program that VSA Affiliates have ever launched. The 40 Day Digtial Arts Festival will be unveiled on the Internet at 40days.vsntn.org stating on Jun 26. For 40 days VSA Tennessee, on behalf of the VSA Affiliates, will showcase the talents and collaborative efforts of 60 countries which will include many different art styles from performances to visual art.

This super-sized, super-inspiring project makes VSA Tennessee members so excited they feel as if they could fly. In their excitement, they are throwing off their “average citizen alias,” donning their super hero their capes and masks in public, and inviting all of their supporters to do the same. You and your supporters can share the excitement, spread the news, and support of the 40 Days event by simply posting a picture of you wearing a mask or a cape on Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #VSAsuperselfie. Remember to tag and challenge another company or individual to be a super hero for the arts so to spread the word. When you wear a cape for a day, you become a super advocate for the 40 Days Festival and a super supporter of every accomplishment that the members of the VSA Affiliates are about to unveil.

93

-Printed Promotions-

STRATEGIES Buzzsaw Creative recommends using printed promotions such as flyers and bumper stickers. Creating materials for VSA Tennessee and 40 Days Around the World Digital Arts Festival accomplishes both of the campaign objectives. These items can be used to promote awareness for VSA Tennessee and the 40 Days Festival among both active and unaware publics. Bumper stickers and flyers are a cost effective. They can be visually appealing, have a high exposure rate and a low cost per exposures. Flyers can be displayed just about anywhere, and bumper stickers promote widespread visibility. Furthermore, bumper stickers could also be sold to raise money for VSA Tennessee. TACTIC 1: DISTRIBUTION Buzzsaw Creative would recommend placing flyers in free locations such as bulletin boards at local coffee shops where there is a higher likelihood of exposure to unaware publics that are also target audiences (such as local artists). We also would recommend either selling or handing out bumper stickers at VSA Ten-nessee events. Events such the ADA 25 event, a book signing with Jeremey Scott (a partner of VSA Tennes-see) and the 40 Days Kickoff event would be highly effective places of distribution as the publics in these locations would be likely to utilize the bumper stickers and would increase awareness of VSA Tennessee.

BUDGET According to our estimates, the flyers would cost approximately 35 cents each and the bumper stickers would cost .90 cents each. However, VSA Tennessee has sponsors that are often willing to print without charge as a donation to the organization. If these sponsors chose to donate printed materials the cost per exposure would plummet significantly.

94


twitter.com/VSATennessee

facebook.com/vsatn

vsatn.org

White Noise by Eric Brito

40 Days Around the World will celebrate arts in disabilities by showcasing cultural exchanges of art and education between 60 countries. On June 16, a website will go live featuring a new project every day.

95


BUMPER STICKERS

96


EVALUATION VSA Tennessee could gauge the success of the bumper stickers by simply counting the number of people who purchase one. If they are simply handed out rather than sold, VSA Tennessee should make a concert-ed effort to determine the number of people who actually adhere the bumper stickers to their vehicles. The flyers should be positioned in high traffic areas where target audiences would likely see the promo-tions. The success of these flyers can be evaluated in two ways: by determining the total number of pos-sible impressions and by tallying the number of people that end up attending the event promoted by the flyer. To do the first, VSA Tennessee would need to know the typical demographics and statistics of the foot-traffic in each location where the flyer is distributed. This measure reveals how many people might have seen the flyer and whether those people would be considered target publics. The second measure is self-explanatory - count the number of people at the events.

97

-Strategic Partnerships-

STRATEGIES Buzzsaw Creative decided that setting up strategic partnerships alongside brands with higher visibility and brand recognition power, could be a long lasting way to build awareness for VSA Tennessee. We recognized a potential partnership opportunity and pursued it. This partnership will open opportunities for VSA Tennessee that will ultimately accomplish our first campaign objective. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Jeremy Scott is a local YouTube megastar, who produces the YouTube channel “Cinema Sins” (a film review/critic series). He has over 3 million subscribers and over 6 million views on YouTube. To put that into prospective, he is within the top 1 % of all YouTube channels ever made. He has recently written a young adult novel titled “The Ables.” It follows a blind teenager as he learns about his new found telekinetic powers and enrolls into a new high school for empowered kids and ultimately develops a team with the other disabled superheroes within the school. They release the book in May and there are talks about it possibly turning this into a graphic novel in the future. TACTIC 1: PITCHING Buzzsaw Creative recognized the opportunity for partnership with Jeremy Scott and presented the possi-bility to “The Ables” management team. We engendered in them an excitement for VSA Tennessee and the 40 Days Festival. Ultimately, “The Ables” Team agreed that a partnership would be mutually beneficial for both parties. After initiating this relationship with the management team, Buzzsaw Creative became the liaison between VSA Tennessee and “The Ables” enabling both parties to become better acquainted with each other’s ob-jectives and to further develop this partnership. TACTIC 2: IDEAS The deal was made that Jeremy and his brand “The Ables” would: -Create a short documentary series showcasing VSA Tennessee projects to be released on Jeremy’s

98

YouTube channel. -Promote VSA Tennessee’s Amazon Smile account on “ The Able’s” Amazon book page -Sell “40 Days Festival” promotional items alongside the book. (The bumper sticker we created could function as a promotional item which they could use.) -Support VSA Tennessee in local events by attending as sponsors. -Support VSA Tennessee on all social media channels.

EVALUATION This partnership becomes visible in May when “The Ables” book releases. From there, Jeremy and his team will release the documentary series on YouTube and the management team can provide lengthy YouTube generated reports regarding views, comments, links clicked and how long the viewer watched the videos. After the project has ended in July VSA Tennessee can calculate the amount of retweets/likes/hashtags that were generated due to Jeremy’s endorsements.

-Strategic Partnerships-

99

-Bibliography-

"News | VSA Tennessee." VSA Tennessee. VSA, Feb. 2015. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.http://vsatn.org/category/latest-news/

"Arts and Culture in the Kennedy White House." - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015

http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Arts-and-Culture-in-the-Kennedy-White-House.aspx

"Explore the Center." Kennedy Center: History of the Living Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.http://www.kennedy-center.org/about/history.html

"Jean Kennedy Smith, a Muse for the Disabled." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, Aug. 2001. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.

Kissinger

http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2001-08-14/jean-kennedy-smith-a-muse-for-the-disabled

http://www.vsaarts.org/about/welcome.html

http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vsa/affiliates/international.cfm

https://www.facebook.com/pages/VSA/395546130526467?rf=105532366147120#

Nielsen 2014; Murfreesboro, TN

"ENTER." PRIZM Market Segmentation Research, Tools, Market Segment Research,. Nielsen, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

"VSA Organization Interviews." Interview by Claudia Weber and Robbie Ammons. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Mensa Education and Research Foundation." Why Do People Make Charitable Donations? -. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

Final Buzzsaw Campaigns Book

Documents

Transcript of Final Buzzsaw Campaigns Book