direct mailer reflection

Segmenting Stakeholders Matrix
Prioritizing Stakeholders: Texas, high-school seniors (17-18) who have been accepted to OU
By Attributes	Definitive: Texas, high-school seniors who have been accepted to OU but have not committedExpectant – Dominant: Texas seniors with correlations to the university whether OU alumni as parents, relatives or friendsDependent: OU, they rely on Texas graduates for higher tuition and geographic diversityDangerous: Texas seniors’ family and friends who will promote Texas institutionsLatent – Dormant: Reviews on the university and media Discretionary: scholarships and financial services Demanding: Seniors who feel like other institutions are more interested in having them attend their university
By Situation	Active: Texas seniors who are interested in/have correlations with OUAware: Texas seniors who have heard of the university and have come into contact with the brandAroused: Texas seniors who do not wish to travel out-of-state for collegeInactive: Texas seniors who have no desire to attend OU (whether cost, expenses, family ties etc.)
By CommunicationStrategy	Advocate: Parents of Texas seniors who actively generate hype due to ties with universityDormant: Texas seniors who have had family and friends consider OU but did not attendAdversarial: Texas higher education institutionsApathetic: Texas seniors who dislike OU
Understanding Stakeholders
Segments	Descriptors	Concerns	Values	ConsumerHabits	Information Needs & Preferences
Generation	Decision makers yet influenced by outside sources, value relationships, active on social media, diverse	The cost of tuition for out-of-state students is rising.	Value success and rewards, need belonging	Look for groups or places where they can fit in, have to “sell” them the university, choices bombard them daily	Need all of the expenses, costs, distances and organizations offered in front of them.
Life Stage	Searching for belonging and a group. Need relationships and a place to “find” themselves	Financial needs and expenses	Work-like balance	Invest in things that will provide satisfaction.	Need all of the information out front
Social Class	Financially stable. Middle to upper class individuals.	What does tuition look like? Will it go up? Scholarship opportunities.	Work-life balance	Willing to spend the money on institution if child is happy	Needs the exact expenses.
Lifestyle	“Well-off”, have had opportunities throughout childhood and adolescent years that others may not receive. This does not exclude the fact that they still may need financial assistance.	Economy, cost of tuition and extracurricular activities	Invest in opportunities and things that excite them or intrigue them	Need belonging, friends from in-state schools may sway	Likely to trust friends and word of mouth more than information from university
Gender	OU student body is roughly %50 male and %50 female. Gender does not play a huge role.	Seeking affordable college options that are close in distance	Be close to family and friends and also get plugged in on campus	Technology savvy, on social media, connected digitally	Active in social media and comm.
Race/Nationality	Largely Caucasian but still have different races and ethnicities	Economy, tuition, scholarships	Socially accepted	Thoughts about future aspirations.	Need the facts but need encouragement.

 

For my PR Publications class we were asked to identify a stakeholder that is tied to OU Recruitment Services. From there, we created a segmenting stakeholder matrix (pictured above) to identify who the stakeholder is, what motivates this group etc. I chose to focus on Texas seniors ranging from 17-18 who have been accepted to the University of Oklahoma. What and who influences this stakeholder’s decisions? How can I create a direct mailer that will influence decisions?

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

Photoshop is not my forte, so I struggled with this assignment. The aspect of different layers and manipulating pictures is not my strong suit. I also struggled with the matrix. It was hard for me to relate everything to my stakeholder group since ultimately they do not influence the decision a lot. Parents, tuition and other aspects are key components to college choices as well.

How did react to what you actually did?

I am in the process of creating the direct mailer and so far I am at a stand still with design and logic behind the design. Should my direct mailer be appealing to my stakeholder or the outside forces , i.e. parents, involved?

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

I became really comfortable with InDesign so switching over has put me back to that “beginners curve”. I need about one more lesson about how to work Photoshop until I can attempt to master it on my own.

Lynda.com here I come!