Upward Bound Plansbook_Final Copy

2020-21

UPWARD BOUND

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 0 3 VISUAL/VERBAL ELEMENTS 16
18
RESEARCH 0 4 CAMPAIGN CHANNELS 19
23
SWOT 0 5 FACEBOOK 26
27
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 06 INSTAGRAM 28
29
TARGET MARKET 0 8 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 30
OBJECTIVES 1 1 MEDIA 31
CREATIVE DECISIONS 1 2 TIMELINE
2
CAMPAIGN THEME 1 3 BUDGET

KEY MESSAGE ELEMENTS 14 PEOPLE NEEDED

SLOGAN 1 5 REFERENCES

CONTENTS

UPWARD BOUND

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Upward Bound is a program in the Springfield area that offers support to participants to better prepare
them for college. They aim to bypass barriers that could prevent students from doing well in school. Participants
must attend Central, Parkview, or Hillcrest High School, be the first in their family to receive a college degree, meet
income guidelines set by the government, or have a documented disability. If a student meets one of those
requirements, the free services offered to them include tutoring, ACT and SAT prep, free waivers, college visits,
college major and career exploration services, counseling, dual credit classes, and bridge classes.3

Our campaign will run from October 19th through November 20th. The cost of our campaign is essentially
free, besides the additional opportunity for sponsored posts on social media, if Upward Bound chooses to spend
their budget as so. The three objectives for our campaign are to fill 80% of our participant limit, have a 26%
increase in the amount of people who are acquiring information about Upward Bound, and grow our online
presence on Facebook and Instagram by 10%.

Facebook will be used to reach the parents of eligible students. Every Monday and Wednesday, there will
be a Facebook video testimonial post, paired with an Instagram picture only version of this same story dropping
the day after its release, Tuesday and Thursday. Additionally, Facebook will serve as a place for any posts that are
longer in length and/or give updates about Upward Bound. While Instagram will be used to reach eligible
students, as well as act as a place to post past student flashbacks. During the last week of our campaign, we will
hold a live Q&A via Zoom to give possible future participants and/or their parents the opportunity to speak with a
spokesperson representing Upward Bound to address any questions or concerns they may have. Throughout every
channel, we will be using the slogan “Grow Together” to help enforce the idea that Upward Bound provides
students the opportunity to expand their experience and knowledge.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

UPWARD BOUND

RESEARCH

RESEARCH 4

UPWARD BOUND

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

Free tutoring for classes, ACT and SAT testing. Little-to-no engagement on social media
College visits and out-of-state trips. platforms.

Relationships with career professionals, new Focuses target audience to 3 high schools in
friends and memories that will last a lifetime. the Springfield area, narrowing their market.
Scholarship and financial aid assistance.

Involved, passionate, and knowledgable staff. THREATS

OPPORTUNITIES COVID-19 and it's possible effects on family
income, university enrollment, and mental
Room for expansion on social media health.
platforms with new campaigns and
interactions. Stuggles to build relationships with busy
Increase in the quality of engagement with liaisons within schools.
potential program members, parents, and
supporters. Struggle to recuit students against competitors.

SWOT ANALYSIS 5

UPWARD BOUND

DIRECT COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Our direct major competitor would
be the Greater Ozarks Centers for
Advanced Professional Studies (GO
CAPS).

GO CAPS offers several services such
as professional skills development,
self-discovery, and career exploration. GO CAPS targets the same market as
Upward Bound, but broadens their services to more schools.

A major strength of GO CAPS is their hands-on approach to discovering
students' passion and career interests. A weakness of GO CAPS is they limit the
age of their target market to high school junior and seniors only, whereas
Upward Bound offers their services to 9-11th graders. 2

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 6

UPWARD BOUND

INDIRECT COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Our indirect competitors include a list of
the many high school extra-curricular
activities and programs that can take
away the attention of our target market.

These are considered indirect competitors
because they are marketing to the same
market as us, but providing different
services.

The list of possible extra-curricular programs are (but not limited to):
- Academic Teams/Clubs
- Student Government
- Volunteer Work/Community Service

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS 6

UPWARD BOUND

TARGET MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS

- College-seeking students - Parents of college-seeking students
- ATTEND: - STUDENT ATTENDS:

Central, Hillcrest, and Parkview Central, Hillcrest, and Parkview
High Schools High Schools
- QUALIFY AS: - PROVIDE:
A first generation college student, emotional, physical, and/or
Having a documented disability, or financial support
A low-income student - Are well-involved in the application
- PREDONIMATELY IDENTIFY AS: process of Upward Bound
White/Caucasian - ACT AS:
- Range from grades 9-114 The main decision-makers for their
PRIMARY children (potential program
SECONDARY members)

TARGET MARKET 8

UPWARD BOUND

PSYCHO-GRAPHICS

We sought out to understand the motivation and values of
our target market.

In research, we discovered our target market values the
importance of learning, and demonstrates the desire and
ability to succeed in high school, as well as to graduate
with a college degree.

Our target market may sometimes lack the motivation to
do the tasks listed above, which is why Upward Bound is
needed to help provide the inspiration they need to thrive
and be successful overall.

TARGET MARKET 9

UPWARD BOUND

GEO-DEMOGRAPHICS

We are targeting college-seeking students and their parents in the Springfield area,
specifically students who currently attend Central, Parkview, and Hillcrest High Schools.

BEHAVIORGRAPHICS

The behavioral patterns we took into consideration when evaluating our target
market are as follows:

1. Their dependency on our benefits
2. Their loyalty to our program
3. Their user status*

*whether or not they have all the necessary information to make an informed decision to choose to be a part of our program

TARGET MARKET 10

UPWARD BOUND

OBJECTIVES

1 To fill 80% of the participant limit (42/52 available
spots) by November 15th.
This will be measured by the number of spots filled.

2 To have a 26% increase in the amount of people
acquiring information about Upward Bound by
November 15th.

This will measured the number of people emailing Upward Bound,
reaching out on social media, and participating in our Live Q&A.

3 To grow Upward Bounds' online presence (through
engagements) on Facebook and Instagram by 10%
by November 15th.
This can be measured by likes, comments, and shares.

OBJECTIVES 12

UPWARD BOUND

CREATIVE DECISIONS

CREATIVE DECISIONS 13

UPWARD BOUND

CAMPAIGN THEME

Emotional Storytelling

Through the use of an emotional theme, we want our campaign to go beyond just
focusing on the services offered by our client, but rather show the impact they can
make.

We plan to do this through "testimonial style" storytelling on our social media
platforms, where past and present Upward Bound participants will share their
experiences in the program. Not only will this give parents and students the chance
to create an emotional connection to the students, but bonds them to the program
itself.

CAMPAIGN THEME 14

UPWARD BOUND

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Upward Bound offers a variety of helpful college prep services to its participating
students. Some of which include: free tutoring for any class, ACT and SAT prep
classes, scholarship and financial aid help, and dual credit hour programs.
Additionally, to make the time a student spends in this program all the more
worth while, participating students earn a money allowance every month.

Beyond this, Upward Bounds hosts various events, such as a mentor program,
weekly lunches, college visits, and a monthly cultural event. In addition, the
program also offers fun Friday trips, as well as a week long out-of-state summer
trip after five weeks of classroom instruction.

All of these resources that are available for students in the Upward Bound
program are very beneficial. Students that go through this program learn the skills
and motivation necessary to move on to higher education.

KEY MESSAGE ELEMENTS 15

UPWARD BOUND

SLOGAN

GROW TOGETHER

The "Grow Together" slogan is an homage to Upward Bound 16
allowing students to gain experience and knowledge, while
working and learning with others. As they want students to
not only grow individually, but grow with and learn from
each other along the way.

SLOGAN

UPWARD BOUND

VISUAL/VERBAL ELEMENTS

One of the display images we will Additionally, displaying students on college tours
frequently post is that of a student will help show parents that this program is designed
receiving help from a tutor/teacher. to help their child have a bright future, while building
In this students may be able to connections with others. Plus, with college visits
envision themselves receiving help too. already a part of the program, it shows students the
potential access they could have to explore different
Additionally, this helps enforce the campuses.
welcoming and supportive atmosphere
of Upward Bound.

VISUAL/VERBAL ELEMENTS 16

UPWARD BOUND

VISUAL/VERBAL ELEMENTS

The colors below are what makes up Throughout this campaign, the
our creative campaign. We chose focus on the brand is about
these colors in order to be consistent simplicity. We want to catch
with the Upward Bound logo and the eyes of our target market,
Missouri State University. Since while also maintaining a
Upward Bound is a nationwide professional, simple, and
program, we wanted to make sure cohesive message. In order to
that our campaign and our program not distract our target
is recognizable as Missouri State. audience from the bigger
These colors will be unvarying picture (the services Upward
throughout the campaign. Bound offers), the font chosen
COLORS for the headings and body text
TYPEFACE is ABeeZee. Headings are
bolded in order to stand out.

#5d0008 #000000 #a6a6a6

VISUAL/VERBAL ELEMENTS 17

UPWARD BOUND

CAMPAIGN CHANNELS

CAMPAIGN CHANNELS 18

UPWARD BOUND

FACEBOOK

Facebook will be an important platform that we will be utilizing in our campaign.
Since Facebook tends to have an older demographic, it is vital to use this platform
to reach the parents of the potential students we are targeting to join the program.

Facebook will serve as a place for any posts that are longer in length and/or give
updates about upcoming Upward Bound events, trips, and informational content.
Additionally, after events or trips have taken place, Facebook can act as the perfect
place to share candid pictures, videos, and memories for students and their parents
to look back on and reminisce together.

In the midst of this more spontaneous or organic content, Facebook will also have
pre-set weekly testimonial posts every Monday and Wednesday. In each of these, a
previous program participant will tell their story of how Upward Bound helped
them to grow into what they are today (via video).

FACEBOOK 19

UPWARD BOUND

FACEBOOK - POST EXAMPLES

FACEBOOK 20

UPWARD BOUND

FACEBOOK - VIDEO SCRIPT

The Testimonial videos featured on Facebook will be a combination of both scripted and unscripted
content. The scripted will consist of an opening and closing line, whereas the unscripted clips will
come from past participants real answers to the below interview questions.

UNSCRIPTED SCRIPTED

- What does your life look like now? Opening Line:
- Career? "Hi my name is _______, and this is my
- Family? Upward Bound Story"

- What goals are you working towards right now? Closing Line:
"Upward Bound [pause] Grow Together"
- How did you first get connected with Upward Bound?

- Whenever you were in the program, what did your life
look like?

- Can you describe how Upward Bound helped you grow
to the person you are today?

FACEBOOK 21

UPWARD BOUND

FACEBOOK - STORYBOARD

Intro logo and Opening Interview Answers Flashback to high school
Line (voice-over) (A-Roll) images of participant
(voice-over continues)

Images of what they're Cut back to A-Roll Outro Logo and Closing
doing now Interview Answers Line (voice-over)
(voice-over continues)
FACEBOOK 22

UPWARD BOUND

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is an integrative part of this marketing campaign. Based off of the user
demographics shown on page 23, our target audience falls perfectly in group that uses
Instagram the most. With this information in hand, it is more than likely that the current
participating students, past participants, and potential participants alike are likely to use
Instagram already.

Through Instagram, our goal is to attract those interested in the program, or have
graduated from the program alike. Not only will this page provide the opportunity for
those who were previously in the program to look back on old memories and see how
they've grown, but allows for the opportunity to inspire potential participants as well.

In order to create one image across multiple platforms, the Upward Bounds Instagram
page will feature picture only versions of the Facebook testimonial videos on every
Tuesday and Thursday. Since these will be more story-esc, the captions on these posts
will be anecdotal in nature and retell the highlights of each story. Beyond this, posts of
student flashbacks, or event highlight reels can be posted as well. With this mix of
scheduled and organic content, the page will seem more relatable and human like,
rather than corporate.

INSTAGRAM 23

UPWARD BOUND

INSTAGRAM- USER DEMOGRAPHICS

Image Source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/1 24

INSTAGRAM

UPWARD BOUND

INSTAGRAM - POST EXAMPLES

INSTAGRAM 25

UPWARD BOUND

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Our Virtual Conference will be a main event of sorts to fully showcase who Upward bound really
is. This virtual conference will be in a webinar-type format taking place on Zoom. There will be
professionals within the program on a panel explaining what the program is and answering
specific questions future participants may have. Along side our program professionals, will be
current participants representing the program to give insight to future participants from their
perspective.

Considering the Covid-19 pandemic, we have found this is the best way to spread the word in an
event format. Since this will be an online event, we have set aside a week long webinar where
individuals can choose the day they will like to participate. Our dates for this event are
November 16th-20th from 10am to 2pm. This is laid out on page 28 of this plansbook.

VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 26

UPWARD BOUND

MEDIA

MEDIA 27

UPWARD BOUND

TIMELINE

TIMELINE 28

UPWARD BOUND

BUDGET

The great thing about this campaign is the affordability of it. Social media is
such a great tool because it's free. We believe that our consistent and
professional content will bring in more engagements and knowledge to our
target audience that it's going to persuade students to join or their parents to
want to sign them up.

The only time when there would be an expense is if a sponsored post is
needed. This can cost from around $15-$60, depending on how long the ad
will be promoted. Ads can be a great way to get on people's radar who are
not following you and are in the target audience.

Once a social media campaign is set, it would be essential to set aside a
budget to possibly hire a team of people who can maintain the social media.
If it is not in the budget, it would be a good idea to hire interns from one of
the local universities to do the work.

BUDGET 29

UPWARD BOUND

PEOPLE NEEDED

Once the campaign is set, a team would be needed to maintain social media presence and
and tone of the campaign to keep it consistent.

PHOTOGRAPHER/ SOCIAL MEDIA
VIDEOGRAPHER

- A freelancer or MANAGER - Handles all
an intern that can social media

take pictures or - Overlooks posts posts.
video of daily
and makes sure - Creates all
activities.
they are captions and
- Edits together
consistent with makes sure posts
recorded
the brand. are posted every
testimonials
for Facebook. - Could be one of week.

the head execs on

the board.

PEOPLE NEEDED 30

UPWARD BOUND

REFERENCES

1. Chen, J. (2020, August 21). Social media demographics to inform your brand's
strategy in 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

2. G. (2020). About. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from
https://gocaps.yourcapsnetwork.org/about/

3. M. (2020). Join Upward Bound. Retrieved September 30, 2020, from
https://trio.missouristate.edu/UpwardBound/Join-Upward-Bound.htm

4. Parkview High Springfield, MO School Boundaries Map & School Profile. (2020,
September). Retrieved September 30, 2020, from
https://missouri.hometownlocator.com/schools/profiles,n,parkview
high,z,65807,t,pb,i,1065289.cfm

REFERENCES 31

GROW
TOGETHER.