Audience Engagement 2.0 Daniel Maxson

What Is The Project? Drive news based behavior Encourage volunteerism against hunger in the Champaign-Urbana metro area

Who is the Client? WILL – Mission WILL enriches people’s lives through programs that educate, entertain, inspire, and empower – Vision WILL will be the model for public media, engaging our communities and audiences in media, programs and services that support a healthy democracy and culture.

Show Me Results! TV Storyboard execution Radio execution Online execution

Big Idea We can fit volunteering into any schedule or budget.

TV Execution

Online Execution

Radio Execution 00:15 Wish you could volunteer but you never have time? can help. Visit our website at and find opportunities that fit in your schedule and budget. There is no commitment required and we have tasks that fit in even the most hectic schedule. Visit today to learn how to volunteer on your terms.

Radio Execution 00:15 Think you don’t have time to volunteer? Think again. At we find volunteer tasks that can fit into any schedule and budget. There is no commitment required. Visit today to learn how you can fit volunteering into your life.

Radio Execution 00:15 Who has time to volunteer between working two jobs? Everyone. At we find quick, easy volunteer tasks so you can help feed the community while still having time for yourself. There is no commitment involved, so visit to learn what you can do to help fight hunger.

Tell Me Why Research Strategy

Research Secondary – Two distinct motivations for volunteering Personal Altruistic – Long-term volunteers want more feedback – Provided framework for thinking about volunteers among our audience

Research Primary – Conducted seven interviews – Target was “long-term” volunteers – Some were leaders, others were followers – Some found by referral, others by CUVolunteer

Research Primary – Insights – Volunteering is a “personal commitment” Motivation is internal – Diverse reasons for volunteering – Reasons for not volunteering Not enough time Fear of obligation

Strategy SWOT Positioning Unique Selling Point

SWOT Broken down by stakeholder – GroundCntrl – Illinois Public Media – The project itself

GroundCntrl Strengths – Strongest metric tracking available on the market for web-based activity organization – “Mission” completion requires tangible evidence – Users can upload content

GroundCntrl Weaknesses – Still in beta stage – Recently rebranded from “Common Deeds” – Heavily marketed to project managers as opposed to project participants

GroundCntrl Opportunities – New niche – Interest in location-based badges demonstrated by predecessors like Foursquare

GroundCntrl Threats – Success highly dependent on user buy-in and sustained interest

WILL – Illinois Public Media Strengths – Well-established in local community – History of driving audience engagement – Recognized and trusted

WILL – Illinois Public Media Weaknesses – Poor web presence – Conflicted on target audience – Poor social media focus

WILL – Illinois Public Media Opportunities – Audience uses radio as a significant source of news – Loyal audience

WILL – Illinois Public Media Threats – Political backlash if controversial subjects are brought up

The Project Strengths – It serves a need identified by last semester’s student researchers – GroundCtrl provides the means to track success – WILL is already a respected part of its community

The Project Weaknesses – Diverse stakeholders – No monetization strategy – Key visionary players

The Project Opportunities – Receptive audience

The Project Threats – Interface design may discourage use

Strategy Objective – Our objective for this campaign will be shaped by the needs of our partner organizations. Abstractly, we want people to use our service as a way to fit volunteering into their lives in spite of any obstacles to regular volunteering.

Positioning Statement For people inclined to volunteer in Champaign- Urbana, this product will provide a centralized platform to discover timely opportunities to serve their community’s needs. Users will be able to track their activity, and reap rewards for achieving pre-set milestones. The system will be available online and via a mobile app.

Target Audience Casual volunteers Home-owner College-educated Employed Married with children

Competition CUVolunteer – Already serves as a virtually comprehensive source of volunteer opportunities in the Champaign-Urbana area – Planning to cooperate with them

Competition Groundcrew – Already offers mobile location-based tasks – Does not provide automated feedback – Is not tied into reporting

Points of Differentiation Automated feedback process for volunteer Mobile application “Social network”

But Is It Sustainable? Conditionally, yes – Cost-benefit – Not all-purpose – Visionaries – Buy-in

Questions? ?