After all the great educator discussion on how we teach PR campaigns, I thought I'd better confess it didn't all turn out as planned this semester. Both clients were slow to respond about which items they actually wanted the teams to implement, so neither team got to evaluate results.
Both teams relied a lot on the Web. The Grady alum team designed a new Web site for alums which will include resume uploading, a directory that alums can update themselves, and links to Grady groups on LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace. The Power Partners Solar team created a great audio slide show using SoundSlide -- a great option for low-budget (and easy) Web content that can also be used at trade shows and expos -- and provided suggestions on a Web site redesign that will make the site more accessible to the average reader. Of course, both teams included other forms of communication with key publics -- creating regional alumni groups, holding plant tours -- as well.
Happily, both team presentations went well, and both clients intend to use much of the content created by the students. I'll link to their work as it gets uploaded.
Lesson for me: if I want the students to be able to implement the campaign, I need some pre-set deadlines for the clients so they know what's expected and when.
Now, to think about PR Administration for spring semester....
