Tips and Tools for Effective Publicity

Many organizations focus so much energy on the planning of an event that they forget that reaching and securing their intended audience is just as important as reserving the location. Event publicity should not be a last-minute effort; it should be an ongoing and appropriately budgeted component of event preparation.  In developing your marketing plan, consider the following points.

Identify your primary target audience and determine the best ways for reaching it.

Determine your budget for marketing and publicity, taking into account the cost of printing flyers, banners, etc.

Plan your marketing campaign: delegate tasks among members; allow time for printing of flyers, banners, and tickets; and consider deadlines for ads, event calendars, and press releases.

Make connections with other organizations or departments/programs whose members might have a particular interest in your event.  Make announcements during appropriate classes, group meetings, or events.  If strong, logical connections exist, consider co-sponsoring the event with other interested groups.  This strategy can automatically enlarge your audience and minimize the expense of your event.

Your best bet is to launch a campaign that incorporates both multimedia and print marketing methods:

• Posters, flyers, and postcards
• Banners
• Dining hall table tents
• Bus advertisements
• T-shirts and other apparel and promotional items
• Student organization websites
• Undergraduate email blasts
• Facebook
• buzz
• Plaza boards
• Sandwich board displays 
• WXDU
• Cable 13
• Newspapers
  

Posters, flyers, and postcards

• The standard size of a DiDA-designed poster is 11” x 17”.
• The standard size of a DiDA-designed flyer is 8.5” x 11”.
• Both are typically full-color, graphically interesting, and contain only the most pertinent text.
• For the University’s policies regarding the display of your posters and flyers around campus, refer to the Bryan Center Display Case Policy.
• Obtain a Bryan Center display case for your organization.
• Poster printing costs 30 cents/color copy at DiDA; limit 50 copies per project.
• Flyer printing costs 20 cents/color copy at DiDA; limit 50 copies per project.

  
Banners

• Banners may be hung on the exterior, Plaza-facing side of the Bryan Center, or above the staircase connecting the Bryan Center’s second and third floors.
• DiDA can design banners of any size. Common dimensions are 4’ x 6’ and 5’ x 8’.
• Banners are typically full-color and contain only the most pertinent text.
• Indoor/outdoor vinyl banners cost approximately $9 per square foot at FedEx Office. Should your banner display duration be one month or less, there is no need to order a weather-protective coating.
  
• In addition to production costs, there is a charge for the hanging and removal of banners. Refer to the Bryan Center Banner Policy for more information.

Dining hall table tents

• To obtain permission to place table tents in Duke’s various dining venues, complete a Table Tent Campaign Application at least two weeks in advance. This form is available in DiDA as well as in the Dining Services office.
  
• The standard size of table tents for the Plexiglas displays in the Great Hall and East Marketplace is 3.6” wide by 8.5” tall.
• The standard size of table tents for the napkin dispenser displays in the Great Hall and other dining venues is 4.25” wide by 6.25” tall.
• Dining Services requires that table tents be printed on card stock.
• Student organizations must install and remove table tents themselves.
• Contact FedEx Office or another local printer for price estimates.
  
  

Bus advertisements

• Bus advertisements appear on the interior of each of Duke Transit’s buses, along the display panels near the ceiling.
• The standard size of a bus ad is 11” tall and at least 22” wide.
• Bus ads are typically full-color and contain only the most pertinent text.
• One set of 25 bus ads, printed on card stock, costs approximately $100 to produce at FedEx Office.
• Duke Transportation charges $75 to install one set of bus ads for one month. For details, contact Gilbert Singleton (919-681-4003) in Transportation Services and refer to their policies and procedures document.
  
  

T-shirts and other apparel and promotional items

• T-shirts allow their wearers to serve as walking advertisement for your organization.
• DiDA team members love to design graphics for apparel, and will work with you to create a design that suits your organization’s needs and expectations. We’ll also submit your design to Duke’s Office of Trademark Licensing for review. Refer to Duke’s Trademark Licensing policies for specifics.
• Upon DiDA’s completion of your t-shirt design, you will need to contact a vendor for pricing and production information. Be sure to provide your vendor with the following details:
  --A high-resolution file containing your t-shirt graphic
  --Quantity of t-shirts you plan to order
  --Desired t-shirt color
  --How many colors of ink you anticipate having printed on them
  --Which sections of the shirt you’d like to have printed (i.e., front pocket area, full front, full back, sleeve, etc.)
• Your organization may wish to consider purchasing promotional items other than apparel for a particular event. DiDA has several catalogues featuring everything from common items (buttons, bumper stickers, etc.) to more obscure, theme-oriented items (sparkly mini lava lamp, anyone?) Virtually any item can be customized to promote your organization’s event or cause.
• DiDA’s apparel design services are free of charge.
• T-shirts and promotional items can be pricey to produce, and typically require a minimum of two weeks for production and shipping.

Student organization websites

To establish your organization's web presence:

• Contact Ryan O’Connell in OSAF to secure a domain name for your organization.
• Your group may create a basic HTML webpage; alternatively, you may use WordPress to create a more dynamic and compelling website.
• DiDA can design your organization’s website using either of the aforementioned options. Upon submitting a project request to DiDA for a website design, we will follow up with you to schedule a meeting to discuss the details of your group’s website needs and expectations.
• Website design can take DiDA as little as two weeks or as long as several months, depending upon the complexity of your site and the efficiency of your communications with us.

Undergraduate email blasts

• OSAF’s Ryan O’Connell sends a weekly email to the Student Organizations listserv. To submit an announcement for inclusion in this message, complete this form.
• Occasionally, Valerie Schwartz sends email blasts to all undergraduates containing important updates from OSAF and recognized student organizations. If your group wishes to include an announcement in the next all-undergraduate email blast, email your message to Valerie Schwartz and she will accommodate it if possible.
• This service is free of charge.

Facebook

• Facebook may be a given, but don’t underestimate the value of social media to spread the word about your new organization or an upcoming event.
• Consider creating a Facebook event, group, page, or social advertisement.
• Facebook events, groups, and pages can be made accessible to everyone or to a limited range of individuals, depending upon the settings you select.
• Similarly, social advertisements enable you to target as broad or as specific an audience as you prefer.
• Facebook event, group, and page creation is free of charge.
• Facebook social advertisement rates vary based upon the size of your ad's audience, the duration of its run time, and the frequency of its display. As social advertisements require a credit card for payment, you either will need to supply your own personal credit card information and obtain a reimbursement, or ask a member of OSAF’s professional staff for payment assistance.

buzz

• buzz is Duke’s student calendar, and serves as a simple means by which to share your organization’s events with the Duke student population.
• To post your organization’s events on buzz, you and your group must be registered with buzz. To get started, submit a buzz Group Request through the buzz help menu. If your group is already registered and you need administrative access for your group, email buzz.
• Once registered, visit buzz and select Submit an Event. You will be prompted to enter your NetID and password.
• This service is free of charge.

Plaza boards

• Make the Plaza your organization’s billboard space! Plaza boards – the painted plywood signs that hang on the Plaza railing across from The Loop – have become a popular and eye-catching method for student organizations to promote themselves and their upcoming events.
• If you or another member of your organization would like to paint your own Plaza board, please see Valerie Schwartz in OSAF during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm). She will provide you with instructions on accessing and using DiDA’s paints and supplies.
• Alternatively, your organization may submit a project request for DiDA to paint a Plaza board to your specifications.
• Keep in mind that less is more when it comes to text on Plaza boards.
• This service is free of charge.
  

Sandwich board displays

• Sandwich board displays can capture the attention of passers-by on the Plaza or at the Bryan Center’s Plaza-side entrance. Use one to showcase your DiDA-designed posters and flyers, if you’d like.
• Recognized student organizations may borrow one of OSAF's sandwich board displays at a time.
• To borrow a sandwich board, see Valerie Schwartz in OSAF during normal business hours (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm).
• Available boards may be borrowed for immediate use. If no boards are available, student organizations may sign up to borrow one up to one month in advance. 
• Sandwich board displays may be checked out for up to one week at a time.
• Please use only Scotch or masking tape to affix materials to your borrowed sandwich board.
• Your organization is responsible for placing its borrowed sandwich board display on the Plaza or in the Bryan Center lobby, and returning it to OSAF at the end of each day.
• OSAF reserves the right to remove sandwich display boards from the Plaza or the Bryan Center lobby at any time, as necessitated by weather conditions or other circumstances.

WXDU

• Your organization is welcome to submit a public service announcement (PSA) to be aired on WXDU, Duke’s student radio station.
• Your PSA should include neither marketing lingo nor calls to action – just basic facts. 
• PSAs are aired a few times per day, and will be heard by listeners in the general public, not just the Duke community.
• Email your public service announcement to WXDU.
• This service is free of charge.
  

Cable 13

• Cable 13, Duke’s student television station, airs student organizations’ static advertisements during breaks between its regularly scheduled programs and films.
• DiDA can design a Cable 13 ad for your organization.
• The standard size of a Cable 13 ad is 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall.
• This service is free of charge.