Stakeholder

When it comes to Public Relations and design, it is very important to direct your message to specific groups. Sending out general information may not be as effective in the long run. For class this week, Professor Croom has asked us to come up with direct-mailer ideas for two types of prospective students.

Prospective students are anyone who is interested in coming to the university. This can be international students, transfer students or non traditional students.

The two types of prospective students I would like create direct mailers for are:

• 16-18 years of age students from Texas, ACT/SAT score meets the OU average, family income-middle class/upper middle class
• 16-18 years of age students from South East Oklahoma, ACT/SAT score meets OU average, family income – lower class

For the 16-18 years of age students from Texas, ACT/SAT score meets the OU average, family income-middle class/upper middle class I chose this demographic for multiple reasons. The reason I started the age for 16 years because students in Texas should discover OU before they discover other universities to go to. It is best to spark interest early on for these students. I thought ACT/SAT score should meet average because although it is important to have students with higher test scores, it is also beneficial to have students who are out of state. For the family income, because out of state tuition is so expensive, I decided it would be best to have students whose families could maybe be more likely to afford the tuition.

The message I would want to send to these students is “OU Loves Texas.” It may be a little silly, but with all the anti-Texas sports wear and media attention, I think that its ok to show our Texas friends a little love.

My second perspective student is the 16-18 years of age students from South East Oklahoma, ACT/SAT score meets OU average, family income – lower class. I chose this student because from my previous knowledge of students in Oklahoma, many students from rural areas do not believe they can attend OU. Again, like the Texas student, if we can start reaching out at a younger age (16) students will be better prepared for OU and aware of its amenities. In addition, I chose students of a lower class background because many students from SE Oklahoma have a difficulty paying for school and with more knowledge for them earlier on, they will have more access to scholarships.

For these students I would want to have a direct mailer with the text “welcome home” and somehow incorporate a “yOU.” I think to students from a rural are, a welcome home can be really powerful when a student comes from a small high school or town to a big school.