Direct Mailer: OU Recruitment Services – Reflection

Hello again!

In my PR publications class, I have been hard at work this past week designing a direct mailer for OU Recruitment Services.  I have a first draft of my design, and I would love some feedback!

First off, let’s take a minute and refresh who the stakeholder is for this mailer: PRPubs Stakeholder.  As segmented in the document linked in the previous sentence, my intended audience is 17-19 year old high school dancers who intend to dance at a collegiate level.  The stakeholder segmentation really allowed me to pinpoint the messages that would resonate best with these individuals: preparing for the future, success and individualism.

So how did I implement my research? Well, here is a draft and you might be able to see for yourself!

 

Now, I would like to answer a few questions about this week’s project.

1. What were you asked to do?

I was asked to create a mailer for OU Recruitment Services for an audience of my choice.  I was then asked to research and understand my stakeholder so that I could better tailor my message to them.  Finally, I was instructed to draft a design that would reach my target audience effectively.

2. How did you respond to what you were asked to do?

I felt that the research was extremely important.  By determining that the future is extremely important to my stakeholder, I decided to accentuate that in my design.  Although the segmentation research was tedious and time-consuming, it confirmed my gut feelings about my stakeholders.

3. How did react to what you actually did?

I’m not totally enthralled by my design, but I do feel that it would be effective and resonate well with the intended audience.  I felt that including the call to audition as well as follow OU Dance on social was doubly effective: directing prospective students to social media platforms allows you to connect with them and build further relationships.

4. Now go one level deeper: Why do you think your reaction was what it was?

I think that I reacted this way because I wish that there had been this kind of direct approach sent to me when I was considering what schools to apply and audition for.  These messages and designs are something that many dancers can relate to: career, the stage, notable alumni, etc.

I really wish that I had the capacity to take my own pictures for these assignments… My original idea fell flat because I didn’t have the ability to find the pictures that I originally wanted, let alone high quality resolutions of them.  If I had the time, equipment and budget, I could have easily created my first design thought and I would be curious to see what your reactions to it would have been.

Until next time!