portfolio
TRANSCRIPT
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THE BACKSTORY
Inside NU is a new student-run sports website
focusing on Northwestern athletics.
My job was to create a brand identity that would
increase student readership.
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Strengths
•Press access of a
traditional newspaper
•Editorial liberty of a blog
Weaknesses
•Lacks brand identity
•Lacks exposure
Opportunities
Strengths enable it to be
positioned as the
“sports voice of the
Northwestern student”
Threats
Controversial opinions
could alienate NU
students
RESEARCH: SWOT ANALYSIS OF INSIDENU
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“This article is an embarrassment to
our school.”
-User: Lauren
The Daily should try to publish
stories that exemplify
Northwestern rather than
humiliate it.
-User: Anonymous
“Once again, the Daily doesn’t fail
in embarrassing me as a
Northwestern student with its
offensive material.”
-User: Kuai
“I thought my school was supposed to
be comprised of people with brains.”
-User: Teddy M
NU students are very protective of their image as a student body and are
hostile to papers who tarnish it.
The Daily Northwestern: Affirmative action dangerously
shortsighted (10/16/12)
The Daily Northwestern: When cheering is no longer harmless (2/3/13)
CONSUMER RESEARCH
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THE INSIGHT
To prevent backlash, InsideNU needed to gain the
students’ trust before it positioned itself as the
“sports voice of the NU student.”
To gain this trust, it needed to prove it looked out for
the common fan.
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THE STRATEGY
Host a series of open forums focusing on hot button
issues in Northwestern sports, where students are
encouraged to voice their opinion.
This will garner the students’ trust and prove to
them that InsideNU is dedicated to giving them a
voice.
Source: http://1.usa.gov/YX6oej
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Y.O.U. is an Evanston-based youth development
agency that provides extra-curricular social and
educational support to disadvantaged youths.
My team’s objective was to increase youth
participation.
THE BACKSTORY
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Focus groups and informational interviews with
Evanston youth and parents revealed that Y.O.U.
has developed a reputation as a place to “correct
troubled kids.”
Because of this, many youths who are interested in
Y.O.U. avoid going out of fear that they will be
stigmatized by their peers.
CONSUMER RESEARCH
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By reframing itself as an agency for upward mobility, Y.O.U. can
eliminate its stigma.
THE INSIGHT
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Partner with Boy and Girl Scouts of America to create troops for middle schoolers in Y.O.U.’s after-school program.
These organizations are renown for building the future leaders of America.
Halo effect will help establish that Y.O.U. has similar goals.
THESTRATEGY: PARTNERSHIPS
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Create entrepreneurial module for high schoolers in Y.O.U.’s after-school program.
THE STRATEGY: PROGRAMMING
Positions Y.O.U. as a
creator of future business
leaders.
Source: http://bit.ly/XhKy4a
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ISA World Cup is a Northwestern student group that
organizes an annual soccer tournament.
Its goal is to promote diversity and intercultural
collaboration between students through a shared
passion for soccer.
My task was to use Facebook to bring together and
engage the NU community of soccer fans.
THE BACKSTORY
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NU students are bombarded on Facebook every
day with messages from student organizations to
support their cause.
Because of this, they avoid interacting with groups
on social media, even ones they support.
CONSUMER RESEARCH
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To attract an audience, the FB
page had to become more
than just another student group
solicitation platform.
It had to humanize itself and
provide a service that
incentivized students to join
the community.
THE INSIGHT
Source: Mediabistro.com
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THE STRATEGY
Turn the Facebook page into NU students’ top
destination for news and entertainment from the
world of soccer.
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ENGAGING CONTENT
Source: Mashable.com
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ORIGINAL CONTENT
Tweets from soccer star FB post