PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

October 5, 2010

2011 CASE DISTRICT 1 CONFERENCE, BOSTON, MA

The big idea

> Donors, like everyone, like to see the results of their generosity, and nothing shows that like the real students

> Students are potential future donors so it makes sense for them to understand the role of giving in their lives

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

> Clark’s Vice President of University Advancement wanted a way to engage donors of our annual fund scholarships beyond the written report

The request

>He asked for a brief, spontaneous video of each of the scholarship recipients that could be sent to their donors via email

The request

The request

>He assigned his Manager of Donor Services to work with Marketing and Communications to make it happen

The request

>We had a time frame of 8 weeks, starting in early January 2010, to coordinate and interview 11 students, and put it all together

A small aside…> Request: Individualized emails with video embedded so that

when the donor opens the email the video plays automatically

W E BT E A M

A small aside…

> BAD idea.

>Why? The email would go straight to junk mail via your spam filter.

SPAM

A small aside….

> Create a nice email with a link to a webpage that hosts the video.

: )This is a standard solution to this problem. People hardly even notice that their browser window is opening.

The team: 7 people, 3 departments

Vice President of University Advancement

2 XVideographers & editorsWeb Team (Marketing & Communications)

1 X Technical support, testing and analyticsWeb Team (Information Technology Services)

Web designer & coderWeb Team (Marketing & Communications)1 X

Project managerDonor Services (University Advancement)1 X

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

The approach

> Clark’s Manager of Donor Services met with the Web team to brainstorm solutions

> The Web team suggested creating a video postcard, with front and back, that could be sent via email

The approach

> The back of the postcard would be an email that would contain text and a link to the appropriate web page

The approach

> The front of the postcard would convey the main message through a video on the web page

The preparations> The manager of Donor Services gave Web team the full list of

scholarship recipients and copies of written reports that had been sent to donors

>Web team used reports to determine best places to interview students, based on their interests and activities

>Mgr. of Donor Services contacted students to ask if they would like to participate

> All agreed. Web team videographers followed up with interview arrangements

THE NITTY-GRITTIES

step 1: storyboarding

1. Student introduces him/herself

2. Student thanks donor and says what scholarship means to them

3. Student talks about their studies and life at Clark

4. Written thank you 5. End with Clark logo

step 2: preparing the students

Send students…

1. questions beforehand to review and think about

2. instructions on what to wear

3. a request to consider what props they might use to

illustrate their experiences

4. a request for photos that might be included in their video

step 2: preparing the students• What is your name, class year and major?

• If your received an academic scholarship, tell me about your project.

• Why did you choose Clark?

• What clubs and organizations are you involved in?

• What are you passionate about?

• Have you ever met your donors?

• If you could meet them one-on-one, what would you say? (Probe: How has your

scholarship made a difference to your experience at Clark?)

• Thank you statement.

• Can you share a favorite experience that happened at Clark? (or something you

are looking forward to, e.g. study abroad)

• Where do you hope your Clark education will take you?

step 2: preparing the studentstips on what to wear

no black or whiteno dots, check or stripesno hats, shades or clunky noisy jewelryno logos or writing unless CU logo

Please wear a simple solid color, and look respectable.

CLARKUNIVERSITY

step 3: preparing the room

Sound & lighting

> Scoping out locations is time-consuming but worth the effort

> make sure the space is quiet and comfortable and there is no air conditioner/ heating system/ background noise

> try to use natural light from a window; avoid fluorescent lights

> make sure it’s a good time of day both for light and minimum interruption

step 3: preparing the roomLighting is a science in itself> http://www.creativetriage.com/tag/flip-camera/

> Check natural light (existing) – The best light to video in is natural light.

> Open blinds or shades – Add as much natural light as possible.

> Turn on all available lights – When there is little or no natural light indoors use overhead, lamps or under-cabinet lights.

> Move subjects as close as possible to the main light

step 3: preparing the roomLighting is a science in itself> Add or decrease light outdoors – Natural light is

preferable to other light sources, but if the sun is too harsh move the subject out of direct sunlight into the shade.

> Move subjects closer to the main light indoors – one of the best sources of light for naturally lit videos comes from windows. You can also add light to a face by bouncing the overhead light onto a reflector (white paper) pointed at the face.

> Avoid backlit interviews – Do not position subject’s back to the sun, windows or bright lights

step 4: lights, camera, action!

Ingredients

1 flip camera

1 tripod

1 pen and paper

1 prepared student

1 prepared location

1 prepared interviewer

step 4: lights, camera, action!> have room ready before student arrives if possible

>make sure equipment is behaving

> set student at ease

> do the interview

> double-check that recording was successful

> THEN get sign off on copyright and thank student

Edit, review, edit…

> video editing is probably THE most time-consuming process in a project like this

> You can use transcripts of the interviews to decipher exactly what to edit or you could take the plunge and just use the raw footage you have

Designing for email> Keep in mind that each individual requires the use of four different

templates, three for email and one for the web (11 X 4 = 44)

> Designing for email is complex and you’re always going to have a continuum of results, everything from looking exactly as you designed it, to plain text with a blue link, simply because of the way email programs work, or don’t – depending on your perspective

THE SCARY TECHNICAL PARTBe afraid, be very afraid…

Basics

> You need a web server, a resource where you can edit, host and upload HTML, image and video file…Where the web browsing public can “see” your content.

> A Flash video “player” component for “after the click.”

> A quality mailing service or program to send out messages.

> Some way of measuring activity with email and web.

Overview of the technical process

Email servicesends HTML

message with link to video

Recipient clicks on link in email

message

Web/Email Analytics

Web browseropens to page with embedded video player

Video content viewed!How did we do?

Creating the message> HTML for email is different!

> There are no standards, but hopefully coming soon.

> Many, many, many possible clients.

> Generally uses “old school” coding methods, advanced formatting is limited.

> Tame design impulses, keep it simple

> Keep in mind SPAM triggers

> http://articles.sitepoint.com/article/code-html-email-newsletters

The Video Email Myth> Current security

models won’t allowa true embed.

> Instead, we are justlinking to web content.

> All we put in the email:HTML text and imagereferences.

Five Key Features of Email sending services1. Message Quality Scoring, aka “How to keep your special message out

of recipients’ SPAM folder.”

2. Ability to send two message formats in one message: both HTML and plain text.

3. Client emulation: showing how your message might appearin popular email programs.

4. Ability to send “test” versions of your mail message over and over and over and over and…

5. Mail analytics: bounces, opens, click-thru’s

Key features of Email sending services1. Message Quality Scoring… if it looks like SPAM…

Email sending services: Format via Text/HTML2. Two formats in one message: HTML/Plain text

Key features: Testing, testing!

Enlist the help of friends/colleagues for testing!

Best practice: Create a Web page equivalent

After the Click…on the web siteWe have two pages for each “campaign,” e.g.,

> The web page equivalent and the target video> We’d have a different approach for a high volume

After the click: Video on the web> Online video continues to evolve

(article from ReadWriteWeb.com)

> HTML5 is here now, requires no plug-ins but will not workwith older browsers. Also requires output of video inmultiple formats. We might take this approach now.

> Any video approach carries some risk that target audiencewon’t see it. Currently 13% of our visitors don’t have Flash

3%!?

After the click: Video on the web

After the click: the Video player

>Many out there in the public domain:JW Player: www.longtailvideo.com/ FlowPlayer: www.flowplayer.org

YouTube as an alternative?

Email sending services: Analytics

Email service reporting, cont’d

Web Analytics> Be sure to take advantage of activity via Google Analytics

THE RESULTS

Donor/supervisor response> To a person, our donors were delighted and surprised by their video

postcards

> Responses ranged from “VERY cool” and “nice touch” to more lengthy commentary

> Clark’s Vice President of University Advancement, who was our primary client, was very pleased. He commented:

“The project was hugely successful. It set the bar for us regarding what we need to do with stewardship.”

Lessons Learned> Assess your needs and assemble your project team early—people are

likely to have other projects so getting in the queue early is to everyone’s advantage

> Work out whether you need to contract with a third-party service provider or whether you have the resources on campus

> Evaluate filming locations to determine best times for lighting and sound considerations

> Provide clear direction to students re: dress and materials to bring to the interview, such as photos, etc.

> Let the students you interviewed see the video postcards you sent to their donors. These students are your donors of the future.

Lessons Learned> Obtain permissions for copyrighted images

> Send a “test” email to all team members before sending the final postcard to donors

> Email the postcard to husband and wife, especially if both are alumni

Lessons Learned

By preparing well, you can give your donorsa highly personalized and impactful form of recognition,

that will celebrate their generosityto your institution.

www.clarku.edu/2011CASE1