Evaluation/ Results
A Lasting Campaign
One of the most successful aspects of our overall campaign is that an overwhelming majority of the tactics and artefacts that we implemented can be reused in future campaigns by the Global Mobility Department. We created and successfully implemented a long-term campaign, not just a once-off event. The posters, tote bags, travel guide, and bookmarks can be re-used in the future without any alterations, as they have already proven to be successful. Also, our social media strategy can also continue to be implemented in a similar way as it has been effective in engaging with our target audience. This means that none of our campaign budget was wasted, as it was all used to create long-lasting and effective products and strategies that our client can maintain and utilise in the future. We did not implement a singular campaign, we created a long-term strategic campaign, along with the complementary tactics and artefacts.
Promotional Posters
20 promotional posters were printed for each of the four country destinations. These were distributed around campus and aided the promotion of both the event and the study exchange program. Each poster was discipline-specific in order to target each exchange discipline, with one poster per country, and a general poster promoting the exchange program as a whole. Evidence of awareness development from the posters are evident in our survey results, as well as the popularity of our big event at RMIT Vietnam, which was promoted through our posters.
Gleaning from our research, our promotional posters were effective in gaining attention and raising awareness for the student exchange program, as indicated by:
Questions used to benchmark success included:
Although the posters were successful in reaching 250-300 students at the big event, and inducing interest within a large portion of RMIT Vietnam students (who were surveyed), the posters were deemed ineffective by Commerce students, as most surveyed did not know about the posters and had not seen them around campus. This may mean that the poster for commerce was not displayed in an appropriate place, or that more effort is required in the future to segment and appeal to different disciplines.
The surveys also found that although the large majority of students had seen the posters, many did not identify with the ‘Step Beyond’ slogan. This indicates the message was not entirely effective, or that it didn’t stand out enough on the posters.
There were a number of constraints and downsides to these evaluation methodologies however. Due to a very short timeframe, the survey was conducted on 70 people, with a larger focus group more likely to have resulted in more reliable numbers. However, the survey did reach a wide number of RMIT Vietnam students from a diverse range of courses, meaning we effectively reached a sample pool from our target audiences.
Gleaning from our research, our promotional posters were effective in gaining attention and raising awareness for the student exchange program, as indicated by:
- a) An overwhelming attendance to our event, with 250-300 students participating in the big event
- b) Survey results (of over 70 students) on poster effectiveness, with a reach of 69% throughout the student cohort, as well as ¾ of those surveyed saying the posters made them ‘very interested’ or ‘interested’ in learning more about the exchange program.
Questions used to benchmark success included:
- Have you seen the ‘Step Beyond - Exchange Program’ posters around campus?
- What do you think the posters are trying to tell you?
- Do you know what country you can go to based on the discipline you study?
- Do the posters make you interested in learning more about the exchange program?
- How likely are you to now go and find out further information about the exchange program?
Although the posters were successful in reaching 250-300 students at the big event, and inducing interest within a large portion of RMIT Vietnam students (who were surveyed), the posters were deemed ineffective by Commerce students, as most surveyed did not know about the posters and had not seen them around campus. This may mean that the poster for commerce was not displayed in an appropriate place, or that more effort is required in the future to segment and appeal to different disciplines.
The surveys also found that although the large majority of students had seen the posters, many did not identify with the ‘Step Beyond’ slogan. This indicates the message was not entirely effective, or that it didn’t stand out enough on the posters.
There were a number of constraints and downsides to these evaluation methodologies however. Due to a very short timeframe, the survey was conducted on 70 people, with a larger focus group more likely to have resulted in more reliable numbers. However, the survey did reach a wide number of RMIT Vietnam students from a diverse range of courses, meaning we effectively reached a sample pool from our target audiences.
The Event
Between 250-300 RMIT Vietnam students participated in the big event, inclusive of a large portion of our target audience. We accommodated for 50 booklets, 165 tote bags, and 150 bookmarks - all of which were taken by the end of the event by keen students. This overwhelming participation and interest garnered through the event is a result of the collaborative environment which we created, where students were invited to interact with the event through stalls, painting stands, and games.
Besides the sheer volume of students attending the event, and the positive commendations from staff and students afterward, surveys were the primary method used to benchmark success and awareness levels. Questions asked to students at the event included:
Survey Questions:
The successful nature of the event is indicated through our survey results:
Besides the sheer volume of students attending the event, and the positive commendations from staff and students afterward, surveys were the primary method used to benchmark success and awareness levels. Questions asked to students at the event included:
Survey Questions:
- What do you think about the event?
- Have you heard about the RMIT Exchange Program before this event?
- How did you hear about the Exchange Program?
- How likely are you to seek further information about the RMIT Exchange Program?
The successful nature of the event is indicated through our survey results:
- a) Nearly ¾ of those surveyed said the event was “fun” and 37% described it as ‘informative’ or ‘useful’, meaning the event was successful in our objective to create an event that was inclusive and entertaining.
- b) The Global Mobility Facebook page garnered almost 500 likes by the completion of our campaign. The bookmarks and the event’s promotional nature can be attributed to this surge in likes - with Global Mobility’s facebook advertised on the bookmarks distributed at the event.
- c) A survey of students at the event found that 70% “definitely will” seek further information, comparative to 6% who said they “definitely won’t”. This highlights the persuasive and beneficial nature of our big event, effectively encouraging awareness and interest in the new exchange programs.
Social Media
Our campaign generated nearly 500 likes on the newly created Global Mobility Facebook page, with shares and comments totalling around 85. Our posts were liked a total of 461 times, with 18 people sending private messages to obtain more information. This is an increase of over 480 more followers than the beginning of the campaign. Tactics used to garner attention to the Facebook page included “inviting friends to like the page”, “sharing” the page, word-of-mouth, and a link to the page on the promotional posters and on the 150 bookmarks distributed at the big event.
Progress and success of our social media campaign was evaluated through the analytics provided by Facebook. We benchmarked these with our original goals and objectives. (e.g. To increase the number of RMIT Global Mobility ‘likes’ by 10%)
Progress and success of our social media campaign was evaluated through the analytics provided by Facebook. We benchmarked these with our original goals and objectives. (e.g. To increase the number of RMIT Global Mobility ‘likes’ by 10%)
- a) 494 Facebook page likes by 7 September 2014. Almost 500 likes within the first two months of a page’s creation is a massive feat, especially for a student-based campaign. Although it is inaccurate to benchmark this success with our initial social media goal (due to the change in Facebook pages), we believe we have satisfied the objective as the old Facebook page had less than 100 likes.
- b) 85 comments and shares and 18 private messages. This indicates the interaction and interest fuelled by our social media page, our success in creating attention for the new exchange programs, and our ability to create a two-way dialogue with our target audience.
Budget
As part of the ‘Step Beyond’ campaign we were given a total budget of $1,000 to use in the implementation of all tactics. The Global Mobility Department funde half of the money, and the ICP program the other half.
As part of Global Mobility’s budget we produced the travel guide, promotional posters, pull up banners and bookmark. These were all produced through the same printing company which is connected to the RMIT Vietnam campus. Unfortunately, all of these items turned out to be much more expensive than initially planned. Realistically campaign only could have afforded to print half the amount of travel guides and promotional posters. With the travel guides costing double than what was quoted and budgeted for. However, if given control of the printing we would have printed only as much as we could afford or we would find a printing company more affordable to our budget. Reducing the number of pages in the travel guide would have reduced the cost of printing. Despite all of these factors, the Global Mobility Department made the executive decision to print the same amount of collateral based on being extremely happy with the quality and design of the finished products. Also because the materials produced could be used in future campaigns. The extra money spent was not only of value to our campaign but for the longevity of the exchange program promotion.
As part of the ICP budget we funded all the materials for our event. This included the printing costs for the tote-bag which we produced 165 at $2au each. We then purchased four MDF boards for the collaborative artwork, a tarp for the painting process, seventy dollars of art supplies, decorations for the event and 120 bottles of water to hand out at the event. Making sure that we kept within the ICP budget was much easier than the Global Mobility budget. This was because we had complete control over the purchasing of materials, including choosing suppliers and amount purchased or printed. We were very successful in making sure we maximised what we got out of the ICP budget. We managed to cut the budget down where possible in order to buy more with the campaign money, such as how we purchased water for our event guests with extra money we had.
As part of Global Mobility’s budget we produced the travel guide, promotional posters, pull up banners and bookmark. These were all produced through the same printing company which is connected to the RMIT Vietnam campus. Unfortunately, all of these items turned out to be much more expensive than initially planned. Realistically campaign only could have afforded to print half the amount of travel guides and promotional posters. With the travel guides costing double than what was quoted and budgeted for. However, if given control of the printing we would have printed only as much as we could afford or we would find a printing company more affordable to our budget. Reducing the number of pages in the travel guide would have reduced the cost of printing. Despite all of these factors, the Global Mobility Department made the executive decision to print the same amount of collateral based on being extremely happy with the quality and design of the finished products. Also because the materials produced could be used in future campaigns. The extra money spent was not only of value to our campaign but for the longevity of the exchange program promotion.
As part of the ICP budget we funded all the materials for our event. This included the printing costs for the tote-bag which we produced 165 at $2au each. We then purchased four MDF boards for the collaborative artwork, a tarp for the painting process, seventy dollars of art supplies, decorations for the event and 120 bottles of water to hand out at the event. Making sure that we kept within the ICP budget was much easier than the Global Mobility budget. This was because we had complete control over the purchasing of materials, including choosing suppliers and amount purchased or printed. We were very successful in making sure we maximised what we got out of the ICP budget. We managed to cut the budget down where possible in order to buy more with the campaign money, such as how we purchased water for our event guests with extra money we had.