OUR NORTHWEST DECEMBER 11, 2008 Katie Davidson Christian Kollgaard Eleanor Liebhaber Kaila TroutBrandon Saty Crimson Communication™

Our Northwest “I would revisit this site. It is good leisurely reading, has topics people would find interesting, and it’s decent for local news.” - Focus group participant, October 30, Crimson Communication™

Introduction  Our Northwest seeks to inform and promote environmental issues facing communities and people in the Northwest region.  Crimson Communication conducted research to assist the creative team at Our Northwest in creating a clear identity for their multi-media website.  Currently, Our Northwest is transitioning from a blog to a multi-media website. Crimson Communication™

Our Northwest’s Homepage Crimson Communication™

Situational Analysis Our Northwest’s Mission Statement: “to inform, enrich, and inspire listeners of Northwest Public Radio, residents of the Columbia River Basin, and current visitors and users of the website.”  Started June 2008 by Mary Hawkins  Lack of public awareness  Result: Hindered development  Lack of partnership with WSU  Result: Disconnected with staff and faculty  Result: Cannot fulfill mission statement  Other websites Crimson Communication™

Strengths and Weaknesses Weaknesses:  Operated by single individual with the help of interns  Inconsistent content updates Strengths:  Connection with high- profile radio  Partners with WSU extensions Crimson Communication™

Research Methods  Three Focus Groups  October 15, 2008 to November 12, 2008  Pizza incentive  One in-depth interview  Online Surveys  Letter of Intent Crimson Communication™ Interested in the environment? Want to help make a difference in your community? Crimson Communication is looking for Focus Group Participants! October 15 at 5:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m., CADD 218/220 or October 16 at 5:30 p.m., CADD 218/220 If interested, please Crimson Communication™

Findings for Focus Group  Awareness  Ten participants occasionally listen to NWPR  One participant had heard of Our Northwest  Design and Layout  Too many links and resources  Like idea of adding more podcasts and video clips  Content  Easy to read and understand  Enjoyed the stories  Preferred shorter stories Crimson Communication™

Limitations of Focus Group  Subjective interpretations  Difficult to understand participants’ comments and ideas  Cannot generalize  Design changes Crimson Communication™

Findings for Survey Survey Respondent Contribution Interest Crimson Communication™

Findings for Survey Crimson Communication™

Limitations for Survey  Response Rate was only 20%  Length of our survey  Depth of survey  Limited to only six departments  Time constraints Crimson Communication™

Survey Conclusions and Recommendations  Conclusions:  No one had heard of Our Northwest from the website, and a very small percentage had heard of Our Northwest  Many people are willing to contribute to the site, even though they had never heard of the website before the survey  Recommendations  Broadcast more about Our Northwest on NWPR  Provide contact information on radio broadcasts  Provide search engine on website  Include more information about Northwest region that is west of the Cascades, instead of just east Crimson Communication™

Focus Group Conclusions and Recommendations  Conclusion:  Awareness level is low  Site is cluttered  DIY articles are preferred  Recommendations:  Advertise through print, radio, event and media sources  Reduce number of links  Include a search bar  Weekly updated stories  Include more multimedia features Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Goal 1: To increase the usage of Our Northwest among WSU staff and faculty and the Pullman community by 50% from n=423 visits per week to n=635 visits per week by December Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Objective 1: To have 10 percent (n=2,526) of the Pullman population (n=25,262) be aware of Our Northwest by December Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy 1: By utilizing various mediums through multiple media outlets to inform community members about Our Northwest and what they offer.  Press release  Advertisements  Public Service Announcements Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy 2: By increasing Our Northwest’s community involvement at events that pertain to their mission statement.  Farmer’s Market  Sponsor an academic event  Flyers in utility bills Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Objective 2: Increase the awareness of Our Northwest among faculty and staff of the targeted colleges, Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Health Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine, from 16.9 percent (n=62) to 50 percent (n=182) by December Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy #1: By targeting Washington State University faculty and staff that listen to Northwest Public Radio and increase their awareness of Our Northwest via the broadcasts. Of the faculty and staff surveyed, who had previously heard of Our Northwest, 100 percent of them reported hearing of Our Northwest from the Northwest Public Radio broadcasts.  Generating more press releases and PSAs  Weekly Fact Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy #2: By advertising on a variety of WSU’s websites in order to increase the awareness of Our Northwest among WSU staff and faculty throughout the campus.  Press release to WSU Today  Link on WSU Today Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Objective #3: Reach out to WSU faculty and staff in the targeted colleges and increase the number of those faculty and staff members that have a high interest in contributing in the website from 5.6 percent (n=20) to 20 percent (n=73). Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy #1: By providing information about Our Northwest at events hosted by the targeted colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Health Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine.  Attend academic events  Pamphlets  Links on other websites Crimson Communication™

Campaign Plan  Strategy #2: By sending quarterly updates via in the months of March, June, September and December to faculty and staff of targeted colleges and request contributions of stories, images, videos, podcasts and even hosting an online discussion to the website.  list of WSU faculty and staff  Compile quarterly topics Crimson Communication™

Timeline Establish the attention- getter for website* Press release, PSA, advertisements, links on other websites* February 2009: Flyers in utility bills May 2009: Attended three academic events. Start attending Farmer’s Market June 2009: Flyers in water bills Crimson Communication™ * Begin as soon as possible

Questions or Comments Crimson Communication™